The Way of the Jedi
by TheBlackHand724
Summary: Harry learns the ways of the force after watching the OG Trilogy when he's 7.
1. Chapter 1

AN!: This was an alternative to the Sentinel plot line that I came up with a few years back. It's not a real Star Wars crossover like the Sentinel was this is more of a Harry learns the ways of the force after watching the OG Trilogy. I'm posting the few chapters I have to clean up B0b's hard drive. If I get a lot of interest in this story I might continue it.

It was July 31, 1987 and Harry was spending his birthday like he did every year. He was cooking breakfast for his ungrateful family. A dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, a huge stack of pancakes. He even squeezed the orange juice. What did he get for his work? A slap in the back of the head for taking too long and a dry piece of toast that he had to make himself. As he sat down at the table his horse faced aunt turned on him.

"Boy, after you do the dishes you will head to Mrs. Figg's house. She has boxes for you to move. It will take all day. I don't want to see your face again today." She said giving him a look like she just stepped in dog crap.

"Yes Aunt Petunia." He said nodding sadly. There went his plans to hid outside all day in the back yard.

After washing the dishes he walked down the street to Mrs. Figg's house. He rang the bell and she answered the door with a smile.

"Good you're here, I have important VHS tapes to watch, and Popcorn to eat." She said making Harry stare at her with a gaping look on his face.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Well I bought a VCR from the store and I need to test it out. The man that set it up for me said I would need to run at least ten video tapes through it. It came with a few of them but I don't know how to put them in. I thought maybe you could put in a few tapes and watch it play to make sure it's working." She said with a smirk.

"Sure, uncle Vernon has a VCR and I know how it works." Harry said getting his brain working again.

"Good, but first I thought about having some breakfast. I got up a bit late today and I haven't had anything to eat. Would you like some bacon and eggs?" She asked.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble." He said looking at the two plates set on the table.

"Not at all, like I said you're helping me test out my new gadget. Come on, let's eat." She said.

After a good breakfast full of soft scrambled eggs, five strips of crispy bacon, and three pieces of toast covered in butter and jam Harry thought he was going to be sick. Harry cleared the table and she handed him a bag full of tapes and pointed to her good sized tv and the new VCR sitting on top. Harry took out the tapes and looked at the titles. He knew some of them because he heard Dudley talking about them with his friends. He saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom. He also saw the Karate kid, Back to the Future and Die Hard. But it was the three tapes in one box that held his attention. STAR WARS. Every kid in his school knew those two words. Harry had wanted to see it so badly and Dudley took extra pleasure in rubbing it in his face that he never saw it. He was going to see it now. He turned to see Mrs. Figg walk into the den.

"What are we watching first?" She asked with a smile.

"Star Wars?" Harry asked trying to play it cool. It was her VCR. She should have some say in what they watched. But he was really hoping she said yes.

"Oh good! They're my favorite. Have you seen the trilogy yet Harry?" She asked excitedly.

"No, I always wanted to." Harry said practically jumping up and down as he took out the tree tapes from the box.

"Great! I love seeing the reaction to some one seeing it for the first time!" She said closing the curtains to block out the light so they could see the tv better.

"This is going to be so awesome." Harry said to himself as he got the tv and VCR ready. He put in Star Wars and hit play. He took a seat next to Mrs. Figg on the couch and six cats took up spots on his lap and around him as the movie started up.

"This is going to change your life Harry." She said with a big smile as the words 'a long time ago in a galaxy far far away…' came on the screen. When the first hit of John William's score started Harry had a huge grin on his face. It didn't leave his face for the full movie.

That day Harry saw all three films and lived and died with every minute of them. He laughed at R2-D2 and C3PO. He cheered when Luke blew up the Death Star. He watched in horror as Darth Vader turned out to be Luke's Dad. He even got misty eyed at the end when Luke burned his father's body. That day Harry lived. When Return of the Jedi ended he turned to Mrs. Figg and looked at her with a shocked look on his face.

"I want to be a Jedi." He said nodding his head.

"You do, do you?" She asked with a smile.

"I do, I want to use the force, and carry a lightsaber, and fight evil bad guys." Harry said.

"Well if you try hard enough I'm sure you'll be a great Jedi one day, but it's getting late and you have to get home. But I think you're going to need to come over for the rest of the week to help me watch all these tapes and we're going to have to see the Trilogy again. Now that you know the end you have to watch it again to see everything you missed the first time." She said.

"I would definitely like to see it again. Those were the best movies of all time!" Harry said getting up and shutting off the tv and VCR.

"Well run along, and we'll do this again tomorrow." She said as he walked out the front door.

Harry had a huge smile on his face the whole way back to his house. He was so high on Star Wars that he missed his cousin and his friends coming down the block headed right for him. Before he knew what hit him Dudley and his gang had Harry surrounded.

"Look what we have boys. It's the Freak!" Dudley said pushing Harry hard enough to knock him over. Harry popped back up and started to panic. He knew how this was going to end. His only option was to try to talk his way out.

"You don't want to do this Dud." Harry said looking for a way out of the group.

"I don't? why don't I?" Dudley asked. It was his simple confused look that set something off in Harry's head. He raised his right hand and waved it in front of his cousin's face.

"You do not want to beat me up." Harry said in a calm tone of voice. Wishing and hoping this worked.

"I do not want to beat you up." Dudley said in a dim witted voice.

"You want to let me go home." Harry said doing it again.

"I want to let you go home." Dudley said. Harry was totally shocked this was working. Seeing the rest of the group he went for broke. He waved at the whole group.

"You all want to stop picking on the neighborhood kids and stop being bullies." Harry said.

"We want to stop picking on the neighborhood kids and stop being bullies." They all said in a creepy tone as one.

"Move along." Harry said waving his hand with a smile.

"Move along." Dudley said letting Harry through.

Harry ran back to the house, if he was excited before he was on cloud nine now. He could use the Jedi mind trick! It worked! It was real! As he approached the front door he stopped and took a deep breath, he was winded, and tired. Using the force took a lot out of you. He walked in the front door and into his uncle Vernon.

"Boy it has come to my attention that today is your birthday. You know what that means." He said pulling out his belt.

Harry threw up his hand and waved it. "You do not want to hit me."

"I do not want to hit you." Vernon said dully.

"Weak minded indeed." Harry muttered before shrugging. "You want to treat me like a member of this family from now on." Harry said going for broke.

"I want to treat you like family from now on." Vernon said before shaking his head and looking confused. "Harry, it's getting late, why don't you get to bed?" Vernon said. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he headed to his cupboard. If he was winded before he was practically falling over now. "Why are you going in there?" Vernon asked looking confused.

"Because this is my room." Harry said turning around.

"Really? Do you like it down there?" Vernon asked.

"Not really. There are spiders and the bed is from a crib." Harry said too tired to realize how crazy this conversation was.

"Well why don't you take the guest bedroom for now. We'll talk about your room situation tomorrow. You look ready to fall over." Vernon said with what Harry thought was concern in his voice but he couldn't be sure.

"Okay." Harry said making his way up the stars. His eyes were drooping by the time he reached the top of the steeps and that's when he saw his Aunt. Before she could even ask him anything he waved his hand once more. "You will treat me like family from now on." He intoned half asleep.

"I will treat you like family from now on." She said looking confused.

"Good. Now I'm off to bed." Harry muttered walking into the guest bedroom. He fell onto the bed and passed out.

Harry woke up the next morning on a soft bed and he was confused. He got up and looked around. He was in the guest room. Suddenly yesterday came back to him in stark contrast. He was a Jedi! Well not really. He needed training first but he had the mind trick down. Now he just had to figure out the rest. He got dressed and went down to breakfast. His aunt was at the stove cooking. He expected to get yelled at but instead she turned to him and smiled.

"Good morning Harry, did you sleep well?" She asked.

"Yes I did. I slept very well." Harry said taking a seat at the table. She set a plate in front of him and Dudley looked around the table confused. That's when Harry forgot he didn't trick him yet. "You will treat me like family." He intoned.

"I will treat you like family." Dudley said back before smiling at him. "Hey Harry, what do you have planed for today?" Dudley asked.

"I have to help Mrs. Figg again." Harry said.

"Too bad, we were planning out going to the arcade." Dudley said.

"Good for you. Have fun." Harry said nodding. This was like a strange scene from a movie.

After having a good breakfast Harry gathered his things and headed off to Mrs. Figg's house. She let him in with a smile and she asked him if he wanted to have breakfast with her again.

"No thank you, I had a good breakfast at home this morning. I really wanted to re-watch those three movies again today if you don't mind?" Harry asked.

"Not at all, why don't you get started and I'll came in after I'm done." She said smiling at him.

Harry turned the tv on and put in a New Hope again and went to take a seat on the couch but it was full of cats. He thought about something and then waved at the cats. "You will not bother me today." He intoned and the cats all got up and walked off the couch. They lined up by the table and looked at him as if they were waiting for more instructions. "Go about your day, just don't bother me." Harry said and the cats all walked away and acted normal. "So it works for animals too." He muttered.

Harry sat through the trilogy again. This time instead of living the emotional rollercoaster through the three films he studied every line, and kept notes of the Force powers mentioned and the training Luke got. By the end of Return of the Jedi he was sure of a few things. The first being that Jedi not only needed to be physically fit, but they needed balance and agility too. They also needed to know how to sword fight. Harry was pretty sure the lightsaber didn't exist but he would need to do more research. Either way swards did exist and he was going to learn how to use one. He also had a list of Force skills to work on. He had the mind trick down pretty good, but he needed to work on pulling, pushing, and lifting with the force. There were a few other skills, like force choking, and lighting that he never wanted to use, but he knew he needed to learn.

Harry walked home and pulled out the phone book. He thumbed through the pages and found a Karate dojo close to his house. He wrote down the address and set it aside. Harry sat back on the couch and looked at the pen in his hand. He held it up and concentrated on the pen. He stared at the pen for a good ten minutes and he was sure it moved a few times but his Aunt calling his name distracted him. He shook his head and put the pen down before running into the kitchen to see what she wanted.

"Harry, I did the laundry today and I noticed your clothes were looking a bit worn out. I think we'll go clothes shopping tomorrow if you're not busy at Mrs. Figg's house." She said as she set out plates for dinner.

"Sure, I'll just run over there in the morning and tell her I have to go with you shopping. Can we make a quick stop off at the Karate dojo in town? I want to look at how much it is to sign up for classes." Harry asked.

"Why do you want to learn Karate for? It's a bit dangerous don't you think?" She asked looking concerned.

"Well I'm a bit skinny and weak for my age and a friend from school took Karate over the summer and came back the next year looking fit and strong. Plus it builds discipline and mental strength as well." Harry said

"You are a bit thin, you're a third of Dudley size, not that it's a good thing for Dudley to be that big." She said stopping to think about something. Harry watched her waver back and forth on his idea and thought about mind tricking her again, but then he stopped himself. Using his powers to balance the way things were was one thing but using them to get what he wanted all the time was another thing altogether. He would take whatever she said. He would not mind trick her again if he didn't need to. Harry didn't know it at the time but that decision to not use his powers for selfish reasons would set him on a path away from the dark side.

"Sure dear, maybe we can get both you and Dudley signed up. It would be something fun for you two to do together. You could bulk up a bit and he could slim down a bit." She said with a happy smile. Harry nodded and thought about her smile. Ever since he mind tricked her it seemed like she was happier. Vernon too for that matter.

After dinner Harry went up to his new room and sat on the bed. He looked at the pen on the desk and held out his hand. Nothing happened. He tried again and this time the pen rolled to the edge of the desk and hit the floor. "I guess I need more work. Maybe I need to get more physically fit to use the Force better? Or maybe I'm just tired." He said to himself before shrugging and slipping into bed. As his eyes were closing he waved at the light switch and the lights shut off. Harry was asleep before he realized what he did.

The next day he spent shopping with his aunt. He never really experienced what it was like to have a loving aunt to fuss over you, but as they headed into their fourth store that morning Harry was starting to realize having a loving parent was a double edged sword. But she was happy picking out clothes for him to try on and he was getting new clothes so he wouldn't complain. But try as he might he still felt uncomfortable around his aunt.

They stopped off at the dojo next and his aunt signed Harry and Dudley up for a six week starter class while she was handling the paperwork Harry wandered around the dojo. It was between classes so most of the instructors and students were stationed around the dojo working on different things. Harry took it all in with a nod and a determined look. He stopped in his tracks when he saw an older kid in his twenties doing hand stand push ups. Harry walked up to him and stood there watching for a minute.

"Was there something I could help you with?" The kid asked with a smile.

"Are you a Jedi?" Harry asked making the older boy laugh to himself.

"No, but one day I hope to be. Master Jet is helping me but I'm still stuck on Dagobah." He said rolling to his feet. He stuck out his hand. "Oliver Whitley." He said introducing himself with a smile.

"Harry Potter. I need to train so I can be a Jedi." Harry said.

"Well you should start with some push ups and crunches. You know how to do those right?" Oliver asked.

"I do, they showed us how to do it in Gym class." Harry said.

"We'll start with those. When you can do 200 of those a day then you can move to inclined push ups and sit up. When you can do 200 of those a day you can move to handstand push ups and hanging upside down sit ups. You can also take the Yoga class here to stay limber and work on your balance." Oliver said almost laughing at the way Harry was paying attention. Like he was taking mental notes.

"I'll do that, good luck with your training." Harry said rushing off to leaving with his aunt.

From that day on Harry dedicated his life to becoming a Jedi. Not only physically but mentally as well. He studied eastern religions, meditation, the Bushido code, and the ways of the Samurai. He also practiced his Force powers every evening until he felt drained. The benefits of his training after two years were staggering. He got taller, muscular, and limber. His academic studies were way above average now that he could come home with test scores higher than Dudley. As for his Force abilities, he could push and pull the huge boulder in the back yard. He could lift it ten feet in the air with a wave of his hand. He could crush tin cans with a flex of his fingers. He could summon objects from hundreds of feet away.

But as he learned new things he would always stop himself and think about the ways he could use his new skills for both good and bad. Like the fact that he could shoot lightning bolts out of his finger tips and they hit the bolder he used for Force training with enough power to leave scorch marks. He knew this was a skill that could only be used to hurt, so while he learned it, he never used it on a person.

The mind trick was another skill he perfected. He used it to help his family get into shape by making suggestions to each of them. Things like: 'You don't need a third helping of meat and potatoes' or 'it's nice outside we should all take a walk' he never used this skill to get things he wanted, or to trick someone into giving him something but after a few dozen suggestions to his family in two years Dudley and Vernon were both down 100lbs and 200 lbs respectively. Even his thin aunt was a healthy 120 lbs, and fit. He also found he could compel people into telling him things, and not just change people's minds.

He perfected this skill when he went jewelry shopping with his aunt. She was looking for a watch for his uncle for their anniversary and the guy behind the counter showed her a horribly over priced gold watch and made some fantastical claims about the watch. Harry could tell he was lying but his poor aunt was buying into his crap. Harry waved his hand at the man and intoned.

"Are you lying about the watch?"

"Yes. This watch is a cheap knock off of a Rolex that I sell to housewives that know nothing about men's watches." He said before looking shocked and panicked. His aunt look shocked and affronted and they walked out of the store in a huff.

"How did you know he was lying?" She asked as they got in the car.

"He looked shifty." Harry said with a shrug.

"Well what are we going to get your uncle now?" She asked.

"If you plan on spending a thousand pounds on his gift then the pawn shop we got my fencing saber had a really nice Silver pigeon shotgun uncle Vernon was looking at. It was a few quid under a thousand pounds and it would give him an excuse to go hunting again, something I know he liked doing last year." Harry said.

"Harry that's genius! We can dust off our camping equipment and all go as a family like last year and he won't have to rent a gun." She said patting Harry on the shoulder as she headed into town.

The other thing he spent time on was his sword work. He started taking fencing and kendo to get both perspectives of sword fighting under his belt. during the summer of 1989 he advanced to a high level of fencing and was put on a local Junior league fencing team. His aunt and uncle were ecstatic. His first big tournament was the Greater Surry regional. The tournament was held in a big high school not too far from the house in Guilford. It was a two day long tournament held all day Friday and Saturday. His aunt drove him to the tournament.

The first day of the tournament was to rank the kids for the next day. There were 64 kids aged 7-10 broken up into groups of 8. They would face off with their group round robin style on eight mats. They would then rank the top four kids in each group and the next day those 32 kids would face off in a single elimination tournament. Harry and his aunt got his number and moved off to the back corner of the gym to his group. There were five boys and two girls standing around stretching and talking amongst themselves while their parents sat in the stands close to the group so they could watch the action. Harry pulled on his fencing jacket, set his face mask on the floor, and took his saber out of the case. He handed the case and bag off to his aunt and took a seat on the floor. He closed his eyes and took deep cleansing breaths. He opened his mind to the force and let it flow through him.

His aunt took a seat next to a lady in a nice sun dress, and set Harry's bags down. The lady turned to her with a nice smile. She had long brown hair that hung down in loose curls and very little makeup on her face.

"Emma Granger, Which one is your?" She asked with a smile as she held out her hand.

"Petunia Dursley. Harry, The one sitting on the floor meditating. Your's?" Petunia asked looking at the group of kids.

"Hermione, The one reading a fencing book by the wall." She said shaking her head. "You know when she asked to take fencing lessons we thought she would become more sociable but she just dove head first into the books and she's still not meeting kids her own age." She said shaking her head.

"Well, Harry has been doing martial arts for the past two years and now he's diving into fencing. Is this your first tournament?" She asked smiling.

"Yes and no, it's the first time for fencing, but she's been in spelling bees and things like that." Emma said tapping her fingers with nervous energy.

"Relax dear, these things are mostly sitting around until your kid comes up." Petunia said patting the woman on the back as the judge for the group had the kids line up.

The first six fights were a breeze for Harry. Using his mix of styles, his high level of fitness, and opening his mind to the Force he dominated each opponent with ease. After six matches he was never touched once. He took out each opponent with the skill and speed of a grand master. But he never gloated, or lorded it over his opponents. He shook hands after each match and no matter how badly he beat them he always highlighted something they used against him and told them they were good. He spent the time between matches sitting on the floor off to the side deep in the force. As the day wore on he was sure he felt another Jedi in the room. Not a strong one, but a Jedi for sure. He could feel the pull on the Force in the room.

At just before noon he was called to the mat for his seventh match. He was facing a small brown bushy haired girl with big teeth and a cute smile. She walked up and shook his hand. The second he touched her he felt the Force. She felt it too by the look of shock on her face. Harry watched her as she backed up to her spot and put on her mask. He did the same thing. When the judge was ready he called go and Harry didn't move, he just stood there watching her as she stood there watching him. For a second they just looked at each other, and then she advanced. Harry blocked her attacks with ease but as he blocked her he felt her pull on the Force to attack faster. Harry blocked two quick attacks and slipped under her defense for a point. They reset and this time Harry attacked first scoring the quick point. They reset and this time she went on the attack first. Again she was no match for Harry but he was still in a state of shock over the power she was tapping into. He batted her saber away and rolled under her saber for a straight hit to the chest ending the match.

They pulled off their helmets and looked at each other as they met in the middle of the mat to shake hands again. This time the jolt was bigger. They walked off the mat and Harry tapped her on the shoulder. She turned back to look at him.

"How long have you been a Jedi?" He asked softly.

"What?" She asked looking at him like he was crazy.

"You heard me, how long have you been able to tap into the Force? And don't play it off, you felt it too." Harry said.

"I'm not…." But she stopped short when Harry pulled a water bottle from the ground to his hand. No one saw it but Hermione. "It's real." She said softly with her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"It started two summers ago from me, I watched the trilogy and that night I mind tricked my family. I've been practicing ever since." Harry said.

"I've never… two months ago." She said looking at her hand.

"What happened two months ago?" Harry asked.

"This mean girl threw my book in a tree. I, pulled it out of the tree." She said.

"You channel it when you fight. You use it to move faster and hit harder. I felt it." Harry said.

"How did you feel it? How does it work? How can I learn?"

"I can teach you, I can… Shhh. My aunt is coming." Harry said.

"You two were something else." Emma said with a big smile.

"Thanks mom." Hermione said.

"So, what have you two been talking about?" Petunia asked with a smile.

"Fencing. Hermione has a good form, and she's very fast, but she could use more practice." Harry said.

"Well why don't you two come back to our house and you kids can practice in the back yard." Emma asked looking at Petunia.

"Sounds good to me. I would like to keep our conversation going." Petunia said with a smile.

"Great. This is almost over. I think Harry only has one more match. Then we can head out." Emma said watching as two boys clashed on the mat.

"Sounds good." Petunia said sharing a look with Emma.

Harry beat his last opponent and the four of them headed out after the two children got their ranking. Harry was ranked first having eight flawless victories, the only kid to do it, and Hermione got a respectable ranking of 24 after five victories.

The car ride to Woking where the Grangers lived was short and Harry spent the twenty minute trip in deep contemplation. What did this all mean? Was there a lot of Jedi in the world? If so that meant he could seek out a skilled master to teach him the things he didn't know yet, like Yoda. It also meant that lightsabers were real. Harry found himself extremely excited by the idea.

The Granger's house was a big two story four bedroom three bathroom brick house at the end of the lane. It looked similar to the other ten houses on the street but it was more secluded. While the adults sat down in the den and had tea the two kids headed out to the back yard. Harry checked the yard over to make sure no one was watching them, something he learned to do after having to mind trick Mr. Katz after she saw him practicing his Force powers. But he didn't have to worry about that here. The Granger's driveway was on the right side of the house next to the neighbor's driveway giving the house a huge hedgerow to separate it from the only neighbor. The other side of the house and backyard bordered the woods and there was a big eight foot tall fence. Confident that he wasn't being watched Harry finally turned to Hermione.

"So you can pull objects, have you practiced any other Force powers?" Harry asked.

"No, and I only did it that one time." She said.

"Well, from my studies so far, there are six Force powers. Push," Harry took a empty tin can out of the trash and pushed it to the other side of the yard. "pull, levitate, Choke, lightning, and mind trick. I have mastered all of these powers to the best of my abilities as you can see." He said showing her each skill." I also found that I can tap into the Force to help me move faster and jump higher. You can do it too. It's how you won your matches." Harry said.

"Wow it's all real." She said falling to the ground as her legs stopped working. "But it's things from a movie. How can it be real." She said looking at the crushed and scorched can.

"I don't know, I think the movies are some kind of legends. Like king Arthur and the knights of the round table. It even says a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. We see aliens in the movies. What if an Alien brought the stories here to earth and they made the movies. I thought I was the only one. Now that you have the Force I'm thinking some of the other things are real too. Like Master Jedi. What if Yoda is real? Or someone like him. And lightsabers! For now I can train you in the Powers I know. I can also help you with your fencing skills and fitness. The body is a tool, if you don't keep it sharp you can't use it when you need it." Harry said sitting across from her in the grass.

"You can teach me?" She asked looking excited.

"Yes, but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication. I found the more fit I was the easier I could channel the Force. I will also teach you meditation and yoga for balance and flexibility. It will help you with your fencing." Harry said with a smile.

"Where do we begin?" She asked with a smile.

"With some yoga and meditation. Your mother is watching us through the window." Harry said without looking at the house.

"How can you know that?" She asked shocked.

"I can feel her. I can feel everyone around me. It's the next level in battle meditation. It's how I'm so good at fencing and martial arts. I can, feel, the next move for lack of a better description." He said

"How are you two doing out there? I have sandwiches and juice boxes for lunch, do you want me to bring it out or are you going to come in?" She asked with a smile.

"I think we'll come in." Harry said popping to his feet with an unnatural grace. He helped Hermione up and her mother's smile got bigger.

They sat at the counter and Emma set two plates in front of them with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a banana, and apple juice boxes.

"What are you talking about out there?" She asked with a smile.

"We were talking about fencing. I was telling Hermione that I could help her train and get better. She has the potential to be very good with some training we were going to start with yoga and meditation to help with balance." Harry said.

"Well don't work too hard." She said leaving them in the kitchen.

"So we're going to work on yoga and meditation first?" Hermione asked.

"To start, then we'll move into the fun stuff." Harry said with a smile.

That day Harry made a promise to train Hermione. He rode his bike five miles to her house every morning and spent the summer working with her. He taught her the physical fitness side of things during the morning and after lunch he taught her to use her Force powers. It took some time in the beginning but soon she had Push, Pull, and levitate down. Everything was going great. Her parents loved the fact that Harry was at their house everyday to hang out with Hermione. Even her father, Dan, got used to Harry when he saw how much Hermione loved training with the boy. The first major problem came a week before the end of the summer. Hermione had progressed up to the darker Force powers and she was having trouble getting them to work. Harry talked her through Force Lighting a bunch of times but when she pointed her hand at the pipe Harry stuck in the ground in the back corner of the yard nothing happened. He tried everything he could think of to get her to the place she needed to be mentally to use the dark side of the Force but she just couldn't get there.

"It's just not going to work Harry! I've tried and I can't do it." She said dropping into her meditating pose, sitting crossed legged. "Besides why do I need it? It's a dark side power Harry." She said.

"There is no such thing as dark side and light side, there is power and the responsibility to use it for good reasons. You need to know everything. Maybe you just need a different target?" Harry said force lifting her and holding her upside down.

"Harry!" She called out in shock.

"Hit me with lighting and I'll let you down." Harry said.

"No." She said crossing her arms.

"I'll throw you. Hit me with lighting." Harry said waving his arm and making her sway back and forth.

"Harry stop it right now!" She said.

"Make me." He said lifting his hand and making her go higher up off the ground.

"Harry Stop!" She yelled.

"Make me." He said shrugging.

"Fine!" She said feeling panic set in as she lifted up six foot off the ground upside down. She threw out her right hand and shot white lighting out of her fingers. It shot at Harry and at the last second he held up his left hand and blocked it.

"OH MY GOD!" Yelled Emma from the back door. Harry set Hermione down and turned to her. Her eyes were wide and her hand was holding her chest. Dan was in the doorway behind her, his eye wide and his mouth was open.

"Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger, I can explain everything." Harry said approaching them with his hands up but Hermione rushed up to him and stood between Harry and her parents.

"No Harry, no mind tricks! We just have to tell them we're Jedi." She said holding out her hand.

"Okay, go ahead. Let's see if this works. If not I can fix it." Harry said shrugging.

"Mum, dad. Um…." She started to say but stopped short.

"Jedi!?" Dan said in a voice somewhere between a confused question and a shocked yelp.

"Yes. Harry figured out he could use the Force a couple of years ago. When we met at the fencing tournament he felt my connection to the Force and he's been training me how to use it." She said.

"The Force." Dan asked looking between the two children.

"Show them Hermione. It's the only way to really convince them." Harry said pulling a coke can from the garbage and tossed it to her. She stopped it in mid air with her right hand.

"Look, he showed me how to force push." She said pushing the can across the yard. "And Pull," She said pulling it back to her. She stopped it a foot in front of her face. And it hovered. "He showed me how to levitate to. We were working on the more violent powers next. Harry show them the other two powers." She said holding the can up for him. Harry crushed the can and hit it with lighting frying the can leaving it black and smoking.

"And the mind trick?" Dan asked looking at Harry.

"It's how I learned I could use the force. My aunt and uncle used to beat me and mistreat me. After I watched Star Wars I mind tricked them into treating me better." Harry said.

"Beat you?" Emma asked shocked.

"Yes. But I'm starting to think they were under the influence of a mind trick to begin with. After I mind tricked them they changed totally, and not just towards me. They became better people to everyone, even themselves. I put it out of my mind at first because I was the only Jedi I knew of. After I met Hermione I was sure there were more Force user out there in the world, we can't be the only two. I've been training her, but I've also been meditating in the Force trying to feel out and find more Force users. I've felt them. They are out there. And if they are out there then the rest of the movies must be true. The light side of the Force and the Dark side. It also means there are masters out there that can further our training some day. Until we meet one we have to get as good as we can on our own. I think this is another reason the story in the movies is told that way." Harry said seeing the elder Grangers calm down and start to accept the facts he was telling them.

"Told how?" Emma asked.

"Luke grows up a normal boy on a farm. He dreams of something bigger. He finds out about the Force. He trains on his own to get a basic knowledge and then Ben Kenobi tells him to seek out a Master to further his training. I think to get a Master you have to lock down the skills the movies taught us. I think once we can go no further in our training the Force will guide us to a Master. It might also be an age thing. Maybe we have to be older to gain a Master?" Harry speculated.

"I think this is all a bit crazy. But then again…?" Dan said waving his hand at the scorched can.

"Trust me. The first few days of figuring this all out on my own were a bit crazy. I've lived with this knowledge for two years now. Hermione has had a few months. This is a bit of a shock for you. Feel free to ask me anything you want to know." Harry said.

From that day on Harry spent more and more time at the Grangers. The combination of not having to hide his skills and Dan and Emma's amazement of what Harry was teaching Hermione was too a good of a cocktail for Harry to pass up. By the end of the summer Harry was spending most nights at their house and he even got to leave some of his things in the guest room across the hall from Hermione.


	2. Chapter 2

AN!: like I said in the first chapter this story is not going to follow any Jedi path too strictly. it's more of a place for Harry to start from and a way of life for him to follow (for lack of a better word to use) Harry will find more powers and skills in this chapter and he moves from the few Force powers he knows to some skills and powers he finds, all of this comes back in the story as a part of his journey and Path. every skill builds on the last one and the choices he make with or against the light side of the 'Force' will affect the way his life progresses.

This story really covers more of a "What would harry be like if he was in touch with his powers before he was brought back to the magical world, and the affect it has on the wizarding world as a whole. This story is not going to be very long. (10-14) at the most, and it's not going to cover too much of the tay to day life. it's more of a milestone story.

I had rough drafts of the first three chapters on B0b's hard drive and along with Agent's Potter and Case files of Richard Castle it was all a part of my work in progress file. I'll be putting up at least one chapter a week. it could be in this story or one of the others it all depends on what I can write that week. but so far I like playing with three stories all at the same time. It keeps me from getting writer's block. If I hit a wall with one fic, I move on to the next one. With that being said this is the most response I've ever gotten for a chapter one. Let's see where this story takes us.

The end of the summer changed the routine a bit but Harry still rode his bike to Hermione's house every day after school, and he spent the weekend at the Grangers. They were forming a tight bond and now that Harry was teaching Hermione Kendo they fell into a rhythm that complemented each other's style. Harry was always out ahead but Hermione was always just a step or two behind him at everything. They also had a short hand for most things. They could spend hours with each other and not say more than a few dozen words but they knew what the other was thinking. Emma thought it was cute that they began to sit a bit closer to each other when they did homework on the dining room table or sat and watched movies together on the couch.

With the mastery of his Force powers Harry spent a good hour every day, usually during History class to meditate in the Force to see if he could feel a new power. This deep meditation brought out new skills starting with the ink trick. Harry was sitting down to do homework one day in early September at the Grangers when he found a broken pen in the bottom of his book bag. He levitated the pen and the spilled ink out of his bag and floated it in front of him. He looked at his paper and had an idea. He waved at the ink and it formed the letters of his name in the air Harry closed his eyes and projected his essay on to the ink. When he opened his eyes his essay hung in the air over the paper in his handwriting. He waving at the paper and it sank down onto the page. It was a bit dark and heave but it worked and Harry smiled a very un-jedI like smile.

"Two things, how did you do that? And can you show me?" Hermione asked looking at Harry with wide eyes.

"I will as soon as I figure it out. For now I need to borrow one of your spare pens." Harry said with a smirk.

The next week Harry bought a few bottles of ink and did all of his homework by visualizing the words in his head, projecting it on the ink, and dropping it on the paper. This shaved hours off their homework time each week and allowed both Harry and Hermione to spend more time on their Force powers.

Harry's next skill came on September 17. Harry was sitting in the Granger's yard trying to come up with a good gift for Hermione's birthday. Hermione was spending the day at her uncle's house with her dad, but the Granger's yard was the best place to work on his Force skills, and Emma let him in. He knew what he wanted to get her. He saw a really nice book of Haiku poems in the book store in town but the book was very expensive. Harry was thinking about the book. He got a chance to look at each page in the book store and thanks to his photographic memory it was all stored in his mind. Now all he had to do was organize it and project it in ink so he could get it down on paper. He had every detail just right and he was about to charm the ink when Emma came out to call him in for lunch. It broke his concentration and in a blink of an eye and a flash of power the book was sitting in his lap. Emma saw it too.

"Harry, where did that book come from?" Emma asked.

"I don't know? But I think it came from my mind. I need to go to the bookstore in town and see if I didn't just summon it from off the shelf. If I did I have to put it back. But if I didn't then I never have to worry about presents ever again." Harry said with a big grin.

Emma drove him into town and he saw the book still on the book shelf. His grin got bigger. Harry walked out of the store and walked into the pawn shop next door. He asked to see the red Katana with the gold dragon hanging on the wall. The sword was a real Japanese antique and the price tag was a thousand pounds. Harry looked it over and studied it in detail. He did the same thing with a set of daggers and a French rapier. He walked out of the shop and got in the car. As she drove back to the house Harry sat in the back seat with his eyes closed. When they got to the house Harry walked in and sat on the couch. He held out his hands and a flash of light later Harry was holding the Red Katana. He handed it to Emma and made another one. He set it aside and made two copies of the Rapier, and four daggers. He felt light headed after that and shook his head.

"Can you wrap those up for me? I think I need to lie down for a bit." Harry said rolling over on the couch and passing out. Emma took the throw off the back of the couch and put it over him. She then wrapped up one set of weapons in a big box she had in the garage. She placed the other set in a old camp blanket and put it in Harry's back pack.

When he woke up three hours later Emma was sitting in a chair reading the book he made.

"This is perfect Harry, it even has the right feel to the paper." She said.

"I think it's a new skill I found. I can copy things. At least I think it's just copying things. I'll have to try to make something from scratch later when I'm feeling more powerful but for now it's just copying." Harry said wiping his eyes as he sat up.

"Well it's still a great skill to have. You just created four thousand pounds worth of valuables this afternoon. But I think next time you should start with something smaller." She said setting the book down and coming to check his temperature. "You still look a bit pale. Come and have a snack. It will build up your strength." She said in her normal caring tone. It was the voice Harry loved the most. While his aunt started using that voice with him he could still never be too sure if she meant it or not. Emma on the other hand took him in and treated him like a son from the very beginning.

"I think it will. Just like our big lunches and dinners during the summer when we were training the hardest. I think the Force is like a muscle. It burns calories when you use it." Harry said as Emma made him a turkey and cheese sandwich and a juice box. "Hopefully I can continue my work after this. I want to try a few other things." He said taking a bite.

"Is that a good idea Harry? You do still look a bit sick." She said.

"I'm not going to be trying anything that big or complex this time. In fact I want to find the power threshold of this new power. I want to test how little Force it takes to copy something." Harry said.

"Okay but then you're going to help me cook dinner, without the Force. You can't become too reliant on it." She said rubbing his head as she walked by him.

After Harry ate he went back into the living room and sat crossed legged on the couch. He closed his eyes, concentrated and held out his hand. A small thin pearl handled gold pocketknife slowly faded into existence in his hand he opened his eyes and cheered.

"This is great! I used hardly anything to make this!" Harry said opening the small knife.

"Is that real gold? Is all of it real gold?" She asked picking up the knife.

"I think so? Let's see?" Harry said closing his eyes. He held out his hand and a small gold bar materialized in his hand. "The next time you're in town see how much you can get for this." Harry said handing her the small bar.

"This can't be real. This is a kilogram." She said weight the bar in her hand.

"Take it to a jeweler and see, I have one more thing you can add to it." Harry said closing his eyes. He held out his hand and nothing happened for a few seconds. His eyebrows scrunched up and he glowed for a second. When the glow faded out he was holding a emerald cut ruby the size of a golf ball. "That took a lot more Force Power." Harry said handing her the stone. "Stones are harder to copy then gold." He said wiping his brow.

"My God Harry!" She said looking at the big red flawless stone. "Where did you see one of these before?" She asked holding up the ruby.

"The crown jewels, but it's not hard to picture it in your head. We all know what a ruby looks like. Just like the gold bar. I saw one on display in a war museum. I just left off the Nazi eagle." Harry said smirking.

"Right, well for safety sake I don't think we should try to sell a ruby this big." She said trying hard not to laugh at his crazy way of doing things.

"Good idea, later on I'll see if I can sketch a setting for it on my pad and see if I can copy it. Now I think you wanted to do some cooking?" Harry asked hopping off the couch and stretching.

Two day's later Harry gave Hermione her gifts and showed her how to copy things. When he explained it to her and showed her what he made she had a confused look on her face.

"Harry, you call it copying but you've made changes to the design of each of the things you made. If it was just copying then how could you make changes? I think it's Making. You're making these things with your mind and the Force. You should try to make something from scratch." She said excitedly.

Harry nodded as he thought about what she said. She was right, he hand made changes to almost everything he created. As he thought about this Emma and Dan came out to the yard.

"We just got back from town!" Emma said excitedly.

"We stopped off at the jewelry store to see if they would be willing to take that gold bar. The jeweler tested the gold and said it was very close to 18 carat gold and said the bar was exactly 1 kilo. The going rate for 18 carat is 163 pounds an ounce, 35 ounces to a kilo, that comes to…" Dam said with a smile as Emma held up a big stack of hundred pound notes.

"5,700 pound!" She said handing Harry the cash.

"Wow!" Harry said holding the stack of cash. "This is so much money!" Harry said looking at the cash. "Well, here, take this," Harry said taking two one hundred pound notes off the top of the stack and handing the whole stack back to Emma.

"Harry it's yours." She said trying to hand it back.

"No, keep it. I spend all my time here eating your food and taking up space, in fact. Here." Harry held out his hand and another three bars faded into existence. "This time I made it pure gold." Harry said handing Dan the three bars.

"Harry that's a lot of gold." Dan said looking shocked.

"And you guys took me in when you didn't need to. You could have kicked me out any number of times. But you took me in and treated me like a son." Harry said looking emotional.

"Oh Harry." Emma said hugging him as she got misty eyed too.

Hermione joined the group hug and Emma looked at Dan. He always tended to keep Harry at an arm's length. He saw him for what he was, a boy, who wiggled his way into his little girl's heart. But looking at the group he knew something else. He also wiggled his way into Dan's heart too. Dan always wanted a son, now it looks like he got one. He hugged the group with a smile.

"Since we have a sudden increase of founds can I have a pony now?" Hermione asked from the center of the group breaking them up laughing.

"No, we still need more land. The yard is big but it's not big enough for a horse." Dan said laughing.

"Well how much is the land behind the house worth?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know? A lot." Dan said laughing.

"You heard the man Harry. Make more gold. I want a pony." Hermione said jokingly.

"Okay." Harry said closing his eyes. He waved his hand and with a flash of light a pallet of gold bricks sat in the yard. Harry wavered for a second but after a shake of the head to get his balance back he was fine. "There you go." Harry said with a big grin. The elder Grangers looked like they might pass out but Hermione jumped up and down with joy.

"Yay! I get a Pony!" She said.

"Harry how many gold bricks is that?" Dan asked in a voice somewhere between a choked whisper and a voice cracking squeak.

"I'm not sure? I thought of a pallet of gold bricks and that's what showed up. This making thing is a lot more complicated than I first thought." Harry said scratching his head. Hermione ran up to the pallet and looked them over.

"10 bricks across, 10 bricks wide, six bricks high. That's 600 bricks at 5,700 pounds a brick… umm, 3,420,000 pounds?" Hermione said looking confused.

"Three and a half million quid." Dan said falling over faint. Emma's knees buckled as well and she ended up next to her husband.

"Dan, how are we? How can we? Umm…" Emma said not knowing what to say.

"He just waved his hand and three and a half million quid." Dan muttered.

"Harry you broke my parents." Hermione said trying not to laugh.

"Sorry?" Harry said shrugging.

"We'll never be able to sell it like this." Dan said finally getting his head back on his shoulders.

"What if we found it?" Harry asked.

"Found it?" Dan asked confused.

"Sure. Say you wanted to build a swimming pool. What if you dug up your yard and found this?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Harry you're a genius! I'll call up a friend of mine on the city council and get some pool plans drawn up. Now all we have to do is bury that gold." Dan said looking excited.

"I'll do it tomorrow. For now I think I need to eat something heavy. I feel weak." Harry said.

"I think pizza is in order. Come on." Emma said standing up and fussing over Harry like she did two days ago.

The next day Harry lifted a big piece of the lawn and Hermione overturned the pallet into the hole. Dan sprayed it with a hose to get the bricks muddy and Harry dropped the yard back over top of it. Hermione made a flag with a wave of her hand and stuck it in the ground over the gold to mark the spot. A week later and a construction crew showed up to dig the hole for the pool. Three scoops with a back hole later and Dan and Emma were on the six o'clock news talking about the gold they found in their yard.

A man from the UK treasury came out to certify the gold and make the official count. As the crew kept pulling bricks out of the ground Harry kept making more. At the end of the week the count was 1,500 bricks of pure gold with a value of a little bit over ten million. The treasury, fearing a crash in the gold market by adding so much gold made a deal with Dan, they would buy half the bricks at above market value if he kept the rest out of the market. Dan signed the deal, and an armored car took half the gold to the reserve and the other half to a bank to hold for Dan.

The next week Dan bought the land behind his house, a Land rover Discovery, and a horse carrier. They drove out to a horse farm to buy two horses on Saturday and Hermione could hardly sit still the whole way there. They spent most of the day riding horses and Harry found the act of sitting on a living thing very comforting in an odd way. Hermione went back and forth between two very beautiful mares. A white horse named Dancer and a light tan horse named Lady. Harry on the other hand made his choice very quickly at the start of the day and stuck by it even though everyone kept giving him odd stares. The horse was named Geoff. He was a dark brown horse of mixed lineage the stable owner bought at an auction for a thousand quid as a joke because of the name. He was part Clydesdale, they knew that much by the comically large hooves and his long black mane. But the rest of him was small, he was short, skinny, and his neck was too long. Harry didn't see all of that. He saw a kindred sprite. Someone who was mistreated, underfed, and unloved. Harry walked by stallions, race horses, and noble steeds and right into Geoff's stable. Emma found him a few minutes later talking to the horse.

"You and me, we have a lot in common. Different from everyone else but special in our own way. I'm going to take you home and fed you, and then we're going to ride around a bit. How does that sound to you?" Harry asked. Emma was going to laugh at the fact that Harry was talking to an animal like he could talk back but she stopped when the horse nodded and neighed. She shook her head. Of course Harry could talk to animals. Nothing fazed her at this point.

Harry got some help from a stable hand to get a saddle on Geoff and after some pointers Harry got on Geoff. He reached down and pat him on his neck. With a few more tips about horse control Harry rode Geoff out of the stables and into the paddock. He made a slow casual loop of the paddock on his new friend.

"Nice early October day today isn't it Geoff? The sun is out, it's not too cold yet, and there's not a cloud in the sky." Harry said as Hermione came flying up on Lady, the tan colored beautiful race horse. She had a huge smile on her face and she was slightly out of breath from the speed.

"Made your choice?" Harry asked nodding at her noble steed.

"I think I did. Lady comes from a good breeding stock and she's a bit younger." Hermione said.

"Yes but can you hold a conversation with her?" Harry asked with a smile.

"No, she's a horse." Hermione said.

"Geoff is a horse and I've been having a great conversation with him. He's a bit on the quiet side but I have a feeling he'll open up a bit once we're away from here. Right Geoff?" Harry asked his horse, and much to Hermione's shock the horse nodded and snorted.

"Right," Hermione said shaking her head.

"You try it." Harry said. "Open your connection to the Force, and let it flow through you as you speak to your new friend." Harry said.

"Okay, um, hello Lady, I'm Hermione?" She said in a tentative voice.

"No, don't be that stiff, just talk and she'll listen." Harry said riding down the hill and onto the inside track.

When Hermione came back to the stables she had a huge grin on her face. She ran up to Harry who was in the back brushing Geoff's back and feeding him apples.

"I did it! I talked and she listened to me! It was great!" She said excitedly.

"I told you, so are we taking these two horses?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Yes I think dad is just filling out the paperwork." She said patting Harry and Geoff on the back as she ran back to go take care of her horse.

In the end it cost twenty-five thousand Pounds for Hermione's horse and they threw in Geoff for free. Harry just laughed and shook his head. They loaded them into the horse box and headed home. By the time they got back the contractor crew was just finishing the conversion of the big wood shed at the back of the yard into a two horse stable. Harry and Hermione lead the two horses out to the back yard and into the stable.

"Geoff, Lady, welcome home. This will be where you stay, and we'll get you nice comfy blankets for the winter. All the hey, carrots and apples you can eat, and we'll take you on regular walks through the woods." Harry said brushing Geoff.

"We'll also get nice comfortable saddles so you don't have to have a hard saddle on your back. You know, before I knew I could talk to a horse the thought of riding one was the best thing in the world, now that they can talk back I'm feeling kinda guilty for hopping on." Hermione said rubbing Lady's nose.

"Don't be, it's what they do, as long as we treat them right they will be happy to give us a ride right boy?" Harry asked Geoff. Geoff nodded and knackered. "See."

"Well as long as they say it's okay." Hermione said hugging her horse around it's huge neck.

Harry's quest to understand his power to make things continued on. He spent most days after school sitting in the yard making things. Most of the time he worked off an idea and made many variations on the same theme, like knives and swords. He'd look up the plans for a sword type, study things like sword length, blade with, hilt to blade ratios, grip thickness. Then when he understood the principles of the design he sat in a deep meditation and made two dozen of them in two dozen different ways. Steel, iron, bronze, black steel, damascus, silver, gold, titanium, tungsten, glass, ceramic, diamond, or ruby.

Then he would pick a type, like gold and make ten copies of that with different hilts like wood, leather, bone, ivory, and any other thing his brain could come up with. Then he would move on to the next type of blade. By the end of October the Granger's basement was full of trunks packed to the top with swords and knives, but Harry understood the power needed to make any metal or stone on the periodic table. He tried to get the Grangers to sell his creations or give them out as gifts, but Emma insisted on keeping them. She had a rack in the family room and every new sword he made would spend some time on the rack. She even kept some of the nicer ones around the house.

Harry was happy with his creations, but he hit a wall when it came to what he was going to do next. He knew he was scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas when he finished his third set of Katanas. This time they were the ones without a tsuba he picked up a book on clock making but Dan stopped him in the hall one day and handed him a book on firearms.

"Here, start with the flint lock pistol and when you can Make a .22 rifle I'll take you out back in the woods and we'll go rabbit hunting." Dan said patting him on the back.

But things weren't all work all the time for Harry. He took an hour long ride around the woods every day with Hermione. They kept to a nice easy pace, and they hardly ever spoke to each other, instead they used the time to soak up claiming serenity of the ride and the beauty of the woods as the trees turned from dark green to yellow to red to no leaves at all and fresh snow on the ground. On one of these rides Harry also found a new skill.

It was a typical Tuesday in mid november. Harry and Hermione made the slow loop of the forest like they always did. There was a fresh two inches of snow on the ground and the kids were wearing heavy leather shearling jackets to combat the cold. The horses even had blankets and leather wrapped wool socks on their legs. Everything was going fine until they got to the back edge of the woods. Harry rode up along side of Hermione and held out his hand to get her attention. He pointed to his eyes and pointed to the trees. He then slowly pull the Cavalry saber from his saddle.

"Harry?" She asked also pulling her saber.

"We're being hunted by dogs. I can feel them out here. Five maybe, six of them. They're in the trees all around us." Harry said.

"Can we make a break for it?" She asked reaching down to pat Lady on the neck to calm her down.

"No, we're going to have to fight them. They are behind us, and Geoff can't run that's fast." Geoff neighed a soft scornful sound like he was apologizing. "It's okay boy. We can handle this." Harry said staying calm.

"Why are they not attacking us?" Hermione asked.

"They're going to wait until we make the turn up ahead I think. When we get close stop, get down, and turn around." Harry said with a reassuring smile.

They approached a bend in the trial and five feet before the turn Hermione stopped Harry rode on for a few feet before he too stopped. They dropped off the horses at the same time and waited with their backs to each other. The attack happened fast and all at once. Three big brown and black German shepherd mixed dog attacked Harry from both side of the woods and the trail at almost the same time. Harry cut them down with the swiftness of a true Jedi in three quick and brutal swings. but while Harry was handling his three dogs Hermione was attacked by three dogs of her own. She split one of her dogs in two but with her back to the left side of the trail another German Shepherd tackled her to the ground by the time Harry turned around to kill the other two dogs Hermione had two big bite marks on her face and her hand. Harry cut the two dogs in half and turned his friend around. He saw blood everywhere.

"Hermione!" He shouted but she didn't respond the force of the fall had knocked her out. Harry didn't know what to do for a second they were far from home and she was losing a lot of blood. Harry closed his eyes, centered himself, and held out his hand. He didn't know what he was doing he just called on the Force to heal his friend. He felt a drain of his power and he opened his eyes to find Hermione on the ground totally healed and looking up at him confused.

"Harry, what just happened?" She asked.

"We were attacked by dogs, you got knocked down and attacked. I healed you with the Force. Apparently I can do that too. How do you feel? Are you okay?" Harry asked looking around for anymore danger.

"I'm fine I think?" She said sitting up. Harry helped her to her feet and put her on Lady.

"Go back to the house and tell Dan to come back with a few guns and the SUV. I think I can feel more of them out here. Go, and take Geoff with you." Harry said handing her saber back to her.

"Harry are you sure? Why don't you come back too?" She asked.

"Because I feel something else out here too. I think a few strays are attacking something else. Go! I'll be fine." Harry said taking her hand.

"Be careful Harry." She said looking sad before taking off back down the trail with Geoff chasing her.

Harry calmed his breathing and listened to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. He heard something, it was a whine of a dog. Tuning to the left side of the trail Harry narrowed his eyes and headed into the trees. He felt out with the Force and it guided him to a clearing fifty meters in. There he saw two German shepherds toying with a hurt blue pitbull. From the deep bite marks on her neck and the pool of blood around her he knew she was close to dead but she growled and snapped at the two dogs every time they got close. Harry Force pushed the two dogs into a big tree and he heard a sickening crunch. He turned to the injured pitbull mutt, and tried to approach but she growled and snapped at him. Harry put his saber down and held out his hands.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help." He said in a soft calming tone as Dan rushed into the clearing with a pump shotgun. The dog looked sad for a second before laying down and closing it's eyes. Harry rushed over to the injured dog but it was too late she was gone. Harry felt frustrated but that soon turned to concern when he rolled the dog over and saw her belly was heavy with pups.

"Dan She's pregnant!" Harry called out in a panic.

Dan rushed over and pulled out his pocket knife. He cut right down the middle of her belly and pulled back the skin. Harry watched as Dan performed emergency surgery to get the pups out.

"Harry make a box with a warm blanket." Dan said. Harry made a wood milk crate with a heavy wool camp blanket surrounded by hot water bottles.

"Will this do?" Harry asked.

"Yes, here I think most of these guys are alive. But I don't know how long they'll last we need to rush them to the vet." Dan said reaching into the mother to pull out two extremely small puppies and set them in the box. He reached in and pulled out one more before going in one last time.

"Boy am I glad I reached in again. I found another one." Dan said shocked as he pulled out a tiny little thing and set it in the box he cover the blanket over the four pups and picked up the dead mother.

"Can you make another blanket for her. We need to take her too so the vet can identify her." Dan said.

Harry made another camp blanket and Dan wrapped the mother in it. He picked up the mother and Harry followed after him out to the trail and the waiting SUV. Dan set the mother in the back and Harry got in the back seat with the box.

"Hang on kid, we have to rush. Those pups only have so much time." Dan said starting up the SUV and taking off down the trail back to the house. They stopped in the driveway just long enough to pick up Emma and Hermione before Dan sped into town.

"Harry how are they doing? Are they moving at all?" Dan asked.

"No, but I think I can help." Harry said holding out his hand he felt a rush of the Force and there was a flash. Harry looked down and the puppies were up and moving around. They also look slightly bigger now. "They're up now and moving about! And they're bigger." Harry said feeling dizzy.

"Harry you over taxed yourself. You're going to pass out." Hermione said grabbing Harry by the shoulder to stop him from falling into the box of puppies.

"Did he pass out?" Emma asked feeling worried.

"No but I feel dizzy and sick." Harry said in a tired voice.

"Well keep it in we're right down the street." Dan said pulling up to the Vet's office in town. "Emma take the SUV around the block and find a spot. Hermione grab the box." Dan said getting out of the truck. He grabbed the mother and Hermione grabbed the puppies and Emma slid over to the driver's seat. She drove around the block and pulled into a spot on the corner. She got out and went to check on Harry.

"You okay Harry?" She asked checking his temperature. "You're shaking and you look pale." She said. Harry pushed her out of the way and fell out of the truck, he threw up everything in his stomach on the street and then dry heaved for a few seconds. Emma rubbed his back.

"You feel better now?" She asked taking his face in her hands.

"I think so. I think the adrenaline just wore off." Harry said spitting and smacking his lips.

"Come on let's go get you some ginger ale and crackers." She said in a soft tone as she helped him up off the ground.

Emma took him into the corner store and got him a few drinks and some crackers. They walked nice and slow to the vet's office and by the time they got there the vet was almost done. Hermione was sitting in the waiting room playing with the vet's cat.

"You okay Harry?" She asked getting up to hug him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Dad's in the exam room with the vet." She said pointing down the hall. Just then Dan came out with the box of puppies followed by the vet.

"Well, the good news is we now have four very healthy puppies." Dan said setting the box down on the counter.

"Good, what are they?" Emma asked looking at the tiny rodent looking babies.

"Pitbull and black Lab mix. Two males and two females. They should turn out to be four very big dogs when they grow up." The vet said.

"Cool, I always wanted a dog." Hermione said looking in the box.

"Now for the bad news, these guys are going to require constant around the clock care if they're going to make it. My suggestion is to pick a puppy and keep an eye on them. They need to be fed this formula every 2-4 hours from these bottles. You have to keep them warm and you have to keep them clean using this sponge bath soap. I'll toss a bunch of it in a bag for you. You're also going to have to bring them to me every few days for the next couple of weeks. But if you keep to a schedule they will conform to it." Dr. Oakland said with a smile.

"Thank you Dr. Oakland. We'll call you tomorrow and set up a visit plan." Dan said shaking his hand.

They took the puppies home and set the box on the table. Dan looked around and landed on Harry. "You found the mother and you saved their lives, you pick first." Dan said.

"Well, um they all look the same except for the white one…" Harry stopped talking when the biggest one rolled over and opened his reddish pink eyes. "Him. The one with the red eyes." Harry said.

"Harry, I'm sure his eyes will change colors as he grows up." Dan said.

"Yes but I will always remember he had red eyes. I will call you Blaze." Harry said. Emma came back to the table with four pieces of different color ribbon. She handed Harry the red ribbon and he tied it very gentle around Blaze's body.

"I want this small girl with the gray fur on her belly. I'm going to call her Shadow." Hermione said taking the pink ribbon and tying it around her puppy.

"Emma, you pick next." Dan said.

"Well, you're probably thinking I'm going to pick the last girl, but I want the runt. He's really tiny and he looks like he needs the most care. I think I'll call you snow." Emma said stroking his pure white tummy with her finger.

"That just leaves you little girl. What am I going to call you?" Dan said looking at the small black pup. "Maggie, after my mother." Dan said looking at his new puppy with a smile.

"Okay, everyone grab a can of formula and a bottle, I'll show you how to do this." Emma said.

The next four weeks were tense and full of worry. A week and a half in and Emma's dog Snow's belly swelled up and he stopped moving around. The Vet took him for a few nerve racking days but soon he was back in the box happy and healthy. Harry's puppy blaze tended to bump and push the other puppies until Harry had a talk with him. After that he protected the box and herded his siblings together in the middle of the box where the most warmth was. But a month after that terrifying day the puppies were declared healthy, and normal. They didn't require as much attention but Emma hovered over the box most of the day when the kids were at school. But aside from that everything was back to normal.

Mid December saw Harry's last breakthrough of the year. It was two weeks to Christmas. Harry made some nice things for everyone, but he wanted to get Hermione something really special. The problem was he had to make it and he didn't know how. He knew how he could start but he needed Dan's help. His opportunity came when Emma took Hermione shopping for Harry and Dan's presents. Harry walked up to Dan with a smirk on his face.

"I need your help with something." Harry said.

"Sure what's going on?" Dan asked.

"I need you to describe a dirt bike to me. How it works and what it looks like." Harry said.

"Come again?" Dan said looking confused.

"I need help practicing making things by description. You know what? A dirt bike is too hard. Let's start with something smaller. Explain to me what a pocket watch is." Harry said taking a seat on the couch next to Dan and closing his eyes.

"Well, lets see, it's a round gold disk with a white face. On the face is number's 1- 12. It has three hands that spin around. This is all protected by glass and the glass is protected by a gold cover. And it tells time." Dan said watching Harry.

Harry held out his hand and a flat gold disk faded in to existence. One side was white. Going across the face was a list of numbers 1-12. There were three miniature human hands spinning around. The glass was right as was the door. Harry opened his eyes and the Watch said "5:15 PM." In a posh voice.

"Nope. Try again." Harry said waving his hand and making the gold monstrosity go away.

"Right, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Dan said blinking.

A half hour and five ever improving mistakes later and Dan was holding a pocket watch that was almost perfect, except for the fact that it was as thin as a coin and had no internal parts at all. Aside from that it ran fine and told the right time.

"This is what I was hoping for. Well not really but look, I made something that can't exist because it can't be real. This is an object made by the Force and running off the Force." Harry said excitedly. "Now tell what a dirt bike is." Harry said with a smirk.

One and a half hours and six failed attempts later and Harry was standing next to what looked like a dirt bike. He got on it, hit the red button that said start. And it started shaking and making noise. Harry twisted the right handlebar forwards and he was driving around the back yard. When he pulled the brake bar with his left hand the bike stopped. There was no engine. There was no fuel. Harry was sitting on a bike that should not exist.

"Okay, now explain to me what a lightsaber is." Harry said with a down right un-Jedi like grin on his face. Fifteen minutes and three very dangerous mishaps later and Harry picked up the black Maglight looking cylinder out of the air. It had a good weight to it but it was not too heavy. One side was capped off and the other side had a cup at the end. There were two buttons on the black cylinder. A green button and a blue button. Harry hit the green button and a green blade of light come out of the lightsaber three feet long and it made a humming sound. Harry swung It around a bit before hitting a big boulder. It left a scorch mark but other then that the rock was fine. Harry hit the green button and the blade shrank back into the cup. He then hit the blue button and a blue blade came out. Harry poked the bolder and the blade cut into the rock he pulled back and the hole in the rock had glowing hot edges. Harry cut the rock into three pieces. Harry held out his left hand and an identical lightsaber appeared. He tossed it to Dan.

"Hit the green button." Harry said switching back to the green blade. "Now fight me." Harry said. Dan swung his lightsaber at Harry's and when the two hit together they stopped and made a loud crackling.

"I'm going to need one of these for Christmas." Dan said with a child like grin.

"Deal." Harry said making another on and tossing it to Dan. "But you can't play with it until Christmas morning." Harry said.

Christmas morning came and Hermione was shocked by the lightsaber and even more shocked when she found out how Harry created it. Soon she was trying to create the impossible, but try as she might she just couldn't get it. She could copy things, she could even create things that worked, but she couldn't make things like the lightsabers, or Harry's dirt bike. But she wasn't totally disappointed by this fact. After all, Harry could make gold and diamonds and she couldn't. still she decided to keep trying but in her heart she knew this was another trick only Harry could pull off.

As winter turned to spring the two kids were again picked for the fencing team regional. On Friday the second of April 1990 Emma was driving the two kids to Guilford again. This time for the first day of a three day single elimination style tournament. Harry and Hermione sat in the back with their eyes closed and their breathing steady. They were deep in the Force preparing themselves for the day ahead of them. They were going to be doing this a lot over the next three days. They would each have two matches today, three the next day, and three the last day. Between those matches they would have to sit and watch the other kids face off. Everything was fine and serine until Harry opened his eyes suddenly.

"Can you turn left up here please?" Harry asked.

"What?" Emma asked jarred out of her silence.

"Up there at the end of the road, make a left." Harry said.

"What's going on Harry?" She asked as she made the turn.

"Just trust me for a few minutes. I think I feel something." Harry said directing her into a packed driveway of a big manor house. It looked like there was an Estate sale going on in the manor. "We have to go in there. Did you bring any money with you?" Harry asked.

"I have some money but I didn't bring a lot. What's in there Harry?" She asked.

"Something powerful, I could feel it from miles away. I'm just not sure what it is just yet, but I can tell you in a few minutes." Harry said walking out of the car and heading into the front door. Emma and Hermione went in after him.

"Do you feel it?" Emma asked.

"I do, but I'm not as in tuned to the Force as Harry is." Hermione said watching Harry walk around the manor.

"There are a few things in here. We're going to need a lot of cash." Harry said dashing up to Emma.

"I'll go talk to the man running the sale and see if we can hold the things you want until later today." Emma said walking over to a group of people talking to an older man holding a clipboard.

After a short conversation Emma made a deal with the man running the sale. He handed her a few tags and a pen. She could tag anything she wanted and he would hold it for a day until she came to pick it up.

Harry ran through the manor pointing to things. A wood humidor that had no key, a few knives and daggers from a display stand. A gold and ruby necklace, a hourglass on a chain gold chain, and old gold signet ring of a skull and crossbones, an old fashioned broom with a bent handle, a huge old marble mortar and pestle with engravings all the way around the bowl, and finally, an old locked steamer trunk, again it had no keys and it felt very light so it had a very reasonable price of twenty pounds.

"We need to take the trunk with us." Harry said placing both hands on the lid.

"Okay." Emma said walking over to the sale runner.

"What do you think all of this stuff is?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, but whatever is in this trunk. I can feel the power rolling off it in waves. We need to get this stuff back to the house as fast as we can so we can start figuring it out." Harry said.

"What about the tournament?" Hermione reminded him.

"You're right, I forgot. We'll take the trunk back to your house and then head to the tournament. We'll be late but I know this is important. Feel the lid." Harry said placing her hand on the trunk.

"Oh my, you're right. It's very powerful." Hermione said.

They put a down payment on the lot and Emma drove them back to the house so they could drop the trunk off. She made a call to the tournament and said they were having car trouble to give them some time and then they headed back out.

The day was long and drawn out in Harry's opinion. They each had two matches that day. Harry, being ranked number one took out the boy ranked 128th in his first match, and Hermione who only lost to Harry last year took out the 127th kid in a quick and brutal match. Then they had to sit through 64 other matches which took two hours. Thankfully they were play first to three points with a one minute clock but the setup time and the formalities were getting on Harry's nerves. Finally the first round was over and 64 kids were cut from the tournament. They broke for lunch for an hour and then they returned for the second round this time it was first to five points with a three minute clock. Harry dominated his opponent so fast the boy had hardly enough time to put on his mask. Hermione took out her opponent just as fast and then the waiting game had to be played again. Emma went out into the hall and used a payphone to call Dan. She had him take the Land Rover to the manor and pick up the lot of tagged items while they were stuck in Guilford watching the second round.

Two hours, and thirty matches later and the field was cut to 32 for round three. Emma drove them straight back to the house and Harry practically ran into the house. He dropped into his meditation sitting position in front of the trunk and closed his eyes. He held out his hand and placed it on the lock. He concentrated on the force and the lock and after a few minutes the lock clicked open. The Grangers were all standing around the trunk watching as Harry opened the lid. Inside the trunk was much bigger than the outside. It looked like it was four times bigger. The trunk was full of folded clothes, books, big rolls of parchment paper, and a black over the shoulder messenger bag with a yellow badger on the font.

There were a few other things in bags and boxes but Harry's was drawn to the tray attached to the lid of the trunk across the top. There were a few books and a few handwritten journals sitting in the tray. Harry pulled them out and set them on the floor. He found and old pen knife that radiated power. He handed it to Hermione and she studied it. He found an old two inch barreled Webley revolver and Dan took that. He tried to check it to see if it was loaded but it wouldn't come apart. Harry found a small leather pouch full of odd looking gold coins. He turned the pouch over and a hundred of the heavy coins spilled out along with a bank draft book with a Seal that read Gringotts in gold as well as an old bill fold wallet full of hundred pound notes. The last item in the tray was a flat black box about a foot long and three inches wide. Harry opened the box and found a ten inch long red wood stick that looked like it was turned on a letht. Harry felt the power of the stick he knew this was something very powerful. He picked it up out of the box and red sparks shot out of the front and a gust of wind came from nowhere and blew things off the shelves. Harry felt like he was holding onto a live wire Harry dropped the stick on the floor.

"What is that Harry?" Hermione asked staring at the stick.

"I don't know but until we figure it out let's not touch it." Harry said floating the stick back into the box and setting it on the table. With the tray cleared Harry pulled out the books. There were about forty of them and they all looked heavy, like textbooks. He took the one off the top and it read, the standard book of spells grade 7. The cover had a moving picture of a stick waving at a spoon, the soon turned into a frog, and then into an odd shaped ball before turning back into a spoon. Harry held up the book so Hermione could see it.

"Hermione, I think we have this Jedi thing all wrong." He said with look full of mixed emotions.

"Maybe, but Maybe not? Who's to say we can't call ourselves Jedi? So there is such a thing as Magic? What makes it magic and not the Force?" She said taking the book and thumbing through it. "This has a lot of wand waving and saying things in Latin. We don't need any of that to make the Force work. Maybe the JedI were real. Maybe they got weak over time and they had to make this stuff up so the weaker JedI could still use the force? We just don't know Harry. You can't let this get you down. We're holding in our hands a full list of Force powers we can start working on! Look there are seven books on the stuff. And this says Defense against the Dark arts! That sounds like JedI teaching to me." She said tossing him a DADA book.

"You're right you know. We'll just have to start on book one and work our way through it. We'll skip all the silly wand waving and spell saying, but we'll learn it all." Harry said flipping through the book in his hands.

"Let's get all these books out so we can see what else is in here." Hermione said pulling books out and stacking them by year.

After the books were out Harry found a black medical style bag full of potions ingredients and a cauldron. He set it aside to look at later. He liked to cook, maybe he found his new hobby. Hermione took out the clothes and stacked them next to the trunk. It looked like a school uniform. It consisted of black pants, a white shirt, a black sweater vest with yellow trim, a yellow and black tie and a black robe with a hood. Hermione took one of the robes and pulled it on. It was too big by about twice over but she got the look. Long robes with hoods. Like old Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker wore. This JedI to wizard change over was complete in her mind. It was a long long time ago after all.

Harry unrolled some parchment and found a handwritten essay by a boy named Axton Archer about transfiguration. He scanned it and it seemed pretty straight forwards. Take one object and turn it into something else. Hell that was easier than with he was doing when he was making thing out of thin air. Harry waved at a bottle of dried up ink and it turned into a frog, it ribbited once before Harry turned it into a gold bar. He took the gold bar and tossed it to Dan.

"I found a new easier way to make those. That took almost no power." Harry said.

"No kidding?" Dan asked looking at the gold bar.

"Way easier. I wish I had this trunk two years ago." Harry said shaking his head.

Harry took out all the rolls of parchment. It looked like this guy kept all of his homework for all seven years of school. Harry knew what he was going to be looking at first. Axton was good at summing up his point and boiling out all the other crap. He wrote in short easy to follow sentences and Harry knew he would get more out of Axton's writing then he would from the books. Harry set the big rolls aside and pulled out a wooden box at the bottom of the trunk that was hidden under the school clothes.

The box had no lid. In fact it looked solid. Harry placed his hand on the box and closed his eyes. It took a few minutes but finally the box split around the edges. Harry lifted the lid and found a big trunk inside. He found three sets of gray robes. two black heavy leather vests, a wide leather belt with an old 1911 in a black leather holster and five pouches. Inside one pouch Harry found six small glass bottle of red glowing liquid. In another he found three more wands. These were short and black. The third pouch had what looked like grenades but they were made of glass and there was something bright yellow inside. The pouch next to it had the same thing but these four were purple. The last pouch was bigger and inside Harry found a square case. When he pulled it out and set it on the table it expanded to look like a rifle case. He opened it and found six long guns inside.

"Dan what are some of these, I only know about half of them from the book." Harry said looking at the six guns.

"Let's see, oh wow, nice collection. Let's see we have a Winchester trench pump shotgun that looks brand new, all of these guns do. This smaller is a M1 carbine, the longer one next to that is an M14, next to that is a Marlin lever action, it's probably a 45-70. This bolt action rifle is a Weatherby 460, that's an elephant gun, and that right there is a 600 nitro express. Who ever this guy was he was ready for anything. We have to take these out back and shoot them. I always wanted to try a 600 Nitro gun." Dan said with a big grin.

"I think this guy was some kind of soldier. Check out all this gear." Harry said tossing on the leather vest and the wide belt. He pulled on the gray robe and when he did everything shrank to fit his size. "Wow, that was so cool!" Harry said pulling up the hood. When he did he disappeared.

"HARRY!" Emma and Hermione yelled.

"Yeah, I'm right here." Harry said dropping the hood. "What's with the yelling?" Harry asked.

"You vanished!" Hermione said.

"No kidding?" Harry said rushing to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. Harry pulled the hood up and walked into the family room, he walked up behind Hermione and he was about to tug on her hair when she turned around and slapped him.

"Not the hair!" She said with a smirk.

"How did you know?" Harry asked dropping the hood and rubbing his shoulder.

"I'm still a jedI remember." She said with a smirk before going back to the trunk.

They found a few more things but really it was mostly more clothes. The exception being a black and yellow gym bag with odd leather padded boots and gloves that went up to the elbow. There were three sets of white jodhpurs, two black and yellow sweaters, two black yellow robes, and an odd shaped leather ball. Harry and Hermione tossed it back and forth a few times and they knew why it was shaped like that. It was easier to grip. The bottom of the trunk had loose receipts, and few silver and bronzes coins, and a brass telescope. They put most of the clothes back, Hermione put on the second vest and one of the two gray robes and it sized to her. Dan took all the guns, and they put most of the school supplies away.

"Well we know more and we know less then when we first opened the trunk. We know the JedI became wizards. We know wizards are taught magic at a school called Hogwarts. We know that Archer Axton was a good student, an athlete of some kind, and that he graduated and took a job as some kind of Spy?" Harry said flipping up his hood to vanish.

"We'll have to ask around that neighborhood about Archer. We should also try to find this bank and a few of these stores. There is obviously a place where these stores are hidden away from the normal people. Also we have to try to get into this school, if only so we can meet more people like us." Hermione said.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry and Hermione spent the next five weeks studying everything they could find in the trunk. Harry took Axton's essays and Hermione took the journals. They studied in different rooms of the house to give the other person as much privacy as they could. Harry worked in the kitchen so he could practice spells in the back yard and Hermione took her parents study. The only time they came together was for a short horseback ride around the trial after school and for dinner. Besides that they stayed away.

Harry committed every word on those rolls of parchment to memory. He also tried and seceded in performing each spell. Hermione took pages of notes from the journals and on a big white board Harry made she filled in a time line that looked both bleak and hopeful at the same time. At the end of Five weeks they came together at the table in the backyard on a Saturday so the elder Grangers could hear this too. Harry got up first.

"Axton's homework was a treasure trove of good spell work. In five weeks I made a list of 214 spells and I can do almost all of them. From simple things like shooting red sparks and the tickle charm. To more complex spells like the lock picking charm, and the cutting curse. To the highly complex like conjuring live animals and transfiguring them into other live animals. Supposedly this is one of the most complicated branches of magic in the world. Now, while I have all this down I am by no means done with the subject of magic. This was only charms and transfiguration. I did not start on potions, which was one of Axton's most loved subject. He spent countless hours brewing and he took volume books worth of notes on the subject. He made his own adjustments to recipes to get better results. I also skimmed over most of the defense against the dark arts writing because it's not too many spells, it's more knowledge of dark creatures and a few specialized charms, like shields to block spells. Really, the majority of the lower level defense is about locating and identifying dark creature in the world and how to keep them away. Fourth and fifth years are about learning the different kinds of spells and how to combat them. Sixth and seventh years are all about learning how to silent cast your spells and how to duel which from Axton's notes he found very dumb. Basically you stand facing each other like in fencing and you toss spells back and forth until one person gets knocked out. Very stupid." Harry said shaking his head.

"Wow, so you know 200 spells?" Hermione asked setting up her white board.

"Yes, and If you read Axton's notes you'll know them too. Two thirds of the spells are so simple I'm surprised we didn't figure them out on our own." Harry said shaking his head.

"We lack imagination. We traded in our childlike imagination for facts and knowledge. A photographic memory is hard to compete with. I'm sure we're quite boring to kids our own age." She said with a sad smile.

"I wouldn't know. I don't socialize with the kids in my class, then again I spend most of my time studying books three grades higher than the class I'm in." Harry said with a shrug.

"It's the same for me." She said.

"We don't need other kids, we have each other." Harry said taking a seat at the table where Dan and Emma were sitting. Hermione looked over her timeline and nodded before turning to the group.

"From my notes I have two time lines, Axton's life growing up, and a timeline of the magical world. We'll start with Axton. He was born to David and Mary Archer June 18, 1958. He was homeschooled by his mother until he went off to Hogwarts. He attended Hogwarts as a Hufflepuff from 1969 to 1976. He graduated with O's in both the OWLs and the NEWTs which from the way he described them are top marks. There is more to this but I'll come back to it in a minute. For now I want to explain the wizarding world. The wizarding world is run by a corrupt government called the ministry of magic and the Wizengamot. A house of lords if you want something to compare it to. The government spends half of its time trying to keep the Muggle, that's the term they use for regular people by the way, from finding out they exist. And they spend the other half of their time letting a group of magicals called the Pureblood do whatever the hell they want without getting in trouble. Sorry for the cursing but to read some of the things Axton wrote about is crazy. They get taxed less than non-purebloods. They run the government. They prosecute non-purebloods for crimes committed against them but not the other way around, and on top of all that there was a dark lord that gathered a bunch of purebloods up, gave them white masks and black robes and let them run wild killing and raping the non-purebloods! And the Aurors, Wizard cops, couldn't do anything to stop them." Hermione ranted.

"You've been holding that in for a while having you?" Emma asked.

"I have been, it's because of what Harry and I are. Harry is a half blood and I'm a muggle born, or Mudblood if you want to be vulgar about it." She said.

"Can you explain that for me?" Harry asked.

"Pureblood means both of your parents had magical parents. Making you third generation magical. If one of your parents don't fit this criteria then you're a Half blood. If you're like me and both of my parents are normal then I'm a Muggle born. The magical world has always been this way, but up until WWII it was not as bad or blatant. During WWII a dark wizard named Grindelwald rose to power in the vacuum of the war. He started the purification of the Magical world like Hitler. A wizard named Dumbledore killed him and stopped his reign of terror. Twenty years later a dark lord named Voldemort tried again but this time he did things more subtly. For years his Pureblood followers killed off Muggle borns for fun and sport without the Magical world even knowing about it. It was only when the children of the Death eaters, Voldemort's follower, went to Hogwarts and started bullying the non pureblood students. That's when things came to a head. The fighting became more open. The newspaper, run by the purebloods still didn't acknowledge it but people were being attacked in the streets. The Aurors were prohibited from casting leather spells at the Death Eaters, but the Death Eaters killed everyone. When a death eater was caught they pealed that they were under a mind spell and they were just let go. It probably helped that their fellow Death Eaters and sympathizers were on the Wizengamot." She said looking tired and sad.

"Is it still that bad?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure, Axton's journals just stop one day, I think Axton didn't make it which makes sense seeing as he worked for the Department of Mysteries under the Operation's side. I'll get into that in a minute. I want to get back to Hogwarts. During Axton's years at Hogwarts is when the Death Eater children started causing trouble. Before this time Hogwarts was split into four different houses. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. The houses were pitted against each other in sport and academics to promote competition and make learning a game. When the Death eater children, who were mostly sorted into Slytherin got there the Houses really started to fight. Spells were exchanged in the hallway. Pureblood families not aligned with Voldemort would get letters or visits from the Aurors about their family members being killed, the Death Eater children who knew about it would needle the grieving kids and they would attack them in retaliation. Prank warfare and humiliation were used as weapons and battle lines were drawn. On the death eater side was Lucius Malfoy, and his friends. On the other side was James Potter and his friends. And yes Harry, I think that's your father." Hermione said. Harry sat at the table for a few seconds without an expression on his face.

"Harry, are you okay?" Emma asked.

"Well I now know they didn't die in a car crash." Harry said sadly.

"I think you need to mind trick your aunt into telling you about your parents." Hermione said.

"If they even know anything. I told you before, I'm pretty sure their minds were tampered with. What we need to do is find a few friends in the magical world and figure this all out. But that's for later, continue with your timeline please." Harry said shaking off the information.

"Right, um, back to Hogwarts. The Headmaster saw this all going on and he did nothing to stop it, in fact Axton thought he kept the fighting going by punishing the grieving children for attacking the Death eaters children. He acted like he played no favorites but Axton and many of the Hufflepuffs saw the old man Dumbledore was manipulative. He would put the Gryffindors with the Slytherins in class so they could fight. He also turned a blind eye to the death eater taunting. Axton's views on the war are very clear headed and almost Zen, being on the outside of the fray gave him a good unbiased view of the war. Axton's mother died when he was young, his father was running an import export business in the middle east. Axton grew up with his pureblood aunt and two house elves. So he had no stake in the war. From his viewpoint the war was being played by two men. Voldemort used the Purebloods to kill the Muggleborns and the light sided purebloods. And Dumbledore manipulated the light sided Purebloods and the half bloods to run into battle with non lethal spells and get killed. The war was good for Dumbledore. It cut the magical population in half. I can only guess that Dumbledore killed Voldemort and used the fame of ending the war to gain more power like he did when he took out Grindelwald.

"What happened to Axton?" Harry asked.

"He graduated and on the day of his graduation he got a black envelope to join the Department of Mysteries. Think MI6, meets a high end research lab mixed with a department of animal control, but for things like dragons and gigantic magical spiders. The department was split up into two groups. Research and Operations. Axton was part of the operations side. His job was supposed to be hunting dark and dangerous creatures, but the Operations group was really picking off Death eaters without anyone knowing it was happening. They would do covert raids on known death eater houses, and they would pick off death eaters during battles from the sidelines. That's what the gray robes were for. They also used enchanted guns that were silent and fired conjured bullets that would vanish after thirty seconds. They were the secret service. The watch Harry found in the trunk works as a two way radio. The heavy leather vests are made out of Dragon hide and yes there are dragons. There are a number of creatures we thought were fantasy in the magical world. His last entry in his journal talks about going to see in girlfriend the next day. I think he didn't made it to his girlfriend's house." Hermione said looking sadly at the stack of leather bound journals.

"Do you think it's still like that in the magical world? Do you think it's still dangerous?" Emma asked.

"Like I said before, I'm just not sure. His last entry was written when the war was still going on. I would like to think the war is over, but I'm not sure. I would like to say we should never cross into that world but I know Harry will need to at some point. The Potter name is an old one. Harry probably has a seat on the Wizengamot. He also might have a trust fund set up by his parents. We need to find the London magical shopping hub called Diagon Alley. We can find the ministry from there and the bank. I think if we return Axton's bank draft book it might net us some good will with the Goblins. And yes the bank is run by goblins. I think we need to get in contact with an Auror and a magical lawyer so we can have Harry's aunt and uncle tested to see if their minds were played with. I think we should also get more books on the other subjects and branches of magic. Like Harry said most of this stuff is easy once we know what we're looking for." Hermione said.

"Well, I think before we do anything we should trade off our notes and start learning the things the other person learned. You more then me. I think I'm happy with this timeline but some more detail into things might be helpful. Then I think we plan out a trip to London in two weeks. We can find the Hub by using the point me spell, extremely useful and so obvious I'm sad I didn't come up with it. Hermione and I can sneak into this alley under our gray robes and have a look around. If it's bad we'll get out, if it's not so bad we'll make our way to the bank. We'll send one of us back to tell you guys how it's going if things are still going good. You never know, we might step five feet into this alley, find a wretched hive of scum and villainy, or we might find a magical utopia. You never know." Harry said shrugging.

Two weeks later Harry and Hermione sat in the back seat of the Granger's SUV as Dan drove around London.

"Take a right up here. I think we're getting close. The stick is making more violent turns." Harry said looking at the stick in his hand.

"I hope so we've been driving around for a good half hour." Dan said with a smile.

"Hold on, I think we're here. Look Harry the Leaky Caldron." Hermione said.

"You're right. This is the place." Harry said looking at a man dressed in robes walk out of the pub. "I'm going to go find out how we get in." Harry said getting out of the SUV and walking up to the drunk wizard. He waved his hand in front of the drunk's face. "You will tell me how to get into Diagon Alley." He intoned.

"Walk through the pub and out the back door tap on the brick wall and it will open for you." The drunk said.

"Move along and forget I asked." Harry said walking back to the SUV on the corner. "We have to walk through the pub, the entrance is behind the pub. We'll wait until someone goes in and then sneak in behind them. If it's bad we'll be out in a few minutes. If it's not bad Hermione will come out and update you while I go to the bank." Harry said pulling on his gray robe.

"Okay, be careful." Emma said looking worried as Hermione pulled on her gray robe. Harry took her hand and pulled up his hood vanishing. Hermione followed him and they stood by the pub for a few minutes until a few people walked in. They followed them in and headed to the back door. The gateway was still open and they both rushed through. The Alley was a hive of activity. Harry spotted the bank at the end of the street and Harry lead her up the stairs and into the bank. They saw a lines of people standing at teller windows and a few goblins sitting at desks marked accounts. Harry and Hermione walked over to a corner and took off their hoods. They took seats at an accounts desk and the Goblin looked up at them board.

"Account name?" The goblin asked.

"Potter. I'm Harry potter and I would like to speak to the man in charge of my family accounts." Harry said.

"Potter?" The goblin asked looking at Harry's forehead before his eyes got big. "The director will want to talk to you." He said standing up and rushing them down a hallway to a big gold door. He knocked and walked in, a few seconds later the goblin came out and pushed them in. once inside they saw and old goblin sitting at a gold desk.

"Hello, I'm director Ragnok. I'm so glad you got my letters. Have a seat, I've been trying to get you to come down to sign the paperwork for your Head of House status." Ragnok said.

"Head of House? Letter? We came here because we found out about Magic from a few old journals in a trunk. We were hoping to get some information." Harry said sitting at the desk.

"You haven't been getting my letters!?" The goblin yelled looking livid. "That old manipulative bastard. That's why he's been trying to pass those new laws!" he said to himself.

"Are you talking about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"I am. For the past year he's been trying to get a new set of laws passed regarding age of a Head of House and now I know it's to keep you in the dark. We have a lot to talk about. This is going to take a while. We have documents to sign, rings to be handed out and I'm thinking you should get in touch with Amelia Bones the head of the department of Magical law Enforcement. You're being robbed." He said.

"Can Hermione go get her parents? I want them here before I sign anything. They're muggle. Can they come in here?" Harry asked.

"They can if a magical holds their hands as they cross the Muggle repelling wards. I'm Ragnarok by the way, I don't remember if I introduced myself." He said with a small laugh.

"It's nice to meet you, We'll go out and get them and bring them back here." Harry said getting up.

"You might want to put your hoods up, you are famous after all." Ragnok said.

"Famous?" Harry asked looking confused.

"Bless the Bed Rock! You don't know who you are?" He asked holding his face.

"No, but I'm thinking that call to the cops is defiantly in order." Harry said getting angry.

"Yes, most definitely. I'll also have my assistant bring you out two robes for these Muggles. You don't want to stand out in a crowd. I'd send guards with you but that would only draw attention." Ragnok said.

"I think that's a good idea." Harry said.

I took a half hour but soon the Grangers and Amelia bones were sitting with the kids in the Director's office. After introductions were made and lunch was ordered Ragnarok and Amelia traded off as they explained who Harry was, who the Potters were, what happened to end the war, and how Harry's image was traded around in the Magical world as they ate. After they were finished Harry sat in his chair very quietly.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked taking his hand.

"I think so, it's just a lot to take in. I think coming here was the best thing I could have done. I say we handle any paperwork you need me to sign so I can get my title and the power that comes with it. Then I think we're going to have to have a talk about how I grew up." Harry said looking calm but his voice spoke of someone who was tired of being fucked with.

The paperwork took about an hour and at the end Harry's wrist felt like it was going to fall off. But he had a nice big shiny gold ring with a red dragon, a bank draft book connected to an account with ten million gallons, or two hundred and fifty million pounds, Emancipation papers, and the power to make whatever decisions he wanted in the Magical world. After that he explained how he grew up and under what conditions until he figured out he could do magic. Amelia was appalled but Ragnarok just shook his head.

Amelia called in a team of Aurors to check the Dursleys for compulsions and check the house for wards. She also advised Harry to get a Law wizard. And pointed him to Andromeda Black, who was both good at her job and not a fan of Dumbledore. She was called in and once the situation was explained to her she was ready to take on the world for Harry.

But, at the end of the day, things just turned out to be a bust. There were no mind altering wards around 4 Privet Drive. In fact there were hardly any words at all. He had the goblins put up wards around both his aunt and uncle's house and the Granger's estate. When the Aurors checked the Dursleys their findings were inconclusive. Because of the last three years of Harry adding compulsions to their heads it was impossible to tell if there was anything there in the first place. They were taken to a mind healer and once everything was stripped away the Dursleys acted like they did the last two years, happy to see Harry and very loving as family should be. Because of this Amelia was sure they were under a compulsion to beat and mistreat Harry growing up. She knew it was probably Dumbledore's doing but the problem was she had no proof because to clean up the effects of the charms they had to all be stripped away. It was a double edged sword. If Harry had never started mind tricking them two years ago they would have proof, but if he didn't start mind tricking them he might not be standing there today. In the end Amelia added it to her report and promised to keep an eye on Dumbledore.

Andromeda jumped in next with her side of things. She would gather as much evidence as she could for three lawsuits. When she had enough evidence she would bring forth all three lawsuits at once so there would be no time for Dumbledore to out maneuver her. She would file two lawsuits against Dumbledore for taking Harry's gold, and trying to block him from becoming head of his house by tampering with his mail. She would also file an injunction to stop people from selling things with Harry's likeness or name. She told him about the rampant use of his likeness and the lies printed about him in books and comics. She would also get a story printed in the Prophet with all the details of the tree lawsuits so the public would know about everything. That way the old man wouldn't be able to hide anything.

As they were all getting ready to leave Harry remembered the bank book in his pocket.

"Oh, before I forget, I wanted to return this to the bank. We found it in the trunk." Harry said placing Axton's bank book on the desk.

"Let's see what we have here. Axton Archer." He read out loud.

"Did you say Archer?" Amelia Bones asked.

"I did, I remember the name but can't place it." He said.

"They're an offshoot of the Bones family line. Where did you find this bank book?" She asked.

"In a trunk at an estate sale. We felt the pull of Magic and collected the magical things from the house. One of the things was a trunk belonging to Axton. Reading his journals and homework parchments is how we found out about the Magical world." Harry said.

"I would like to see the things you bought one day. Some of them might be Bones family heirlooms. I would of course be willing to pay…" She started to say but Harry stopped her.

"That won't be necessary. As you can see I'm not hurting for gold and I think friendship is worth more then whatever gold you can pay. All I ask is that we can keep Axton's things. We've grown very attached to Axton through reading about his life and work and we would like to keep those things." Harry said.

"Agreed, the Bone's and Potter houses were once very tight allies. I think, if it's alright with you, I would like to stop by tomorrow and look at the items you found. I can even bring my niece, she's your age and she grew up in the magical world, she'll be attending Hogwarts with you both next year." She said.

"Why would we go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Well you have to. To sit on your seat as a member of the Wizengamot you have to have a wand, to own a wand after the age of fifteen you have to pass the OWLs. To take the OWLs you have to attend a school. The only schools that offer the full OWLs are Hogwarts, Bobatons, and Dumstrang. Hogwarts is the only one on that list with courses taught in English. It's also a point of pride in the community. If you want to work anywhere in the British wizarding world then you have to attend Hogwarts." She explained.

"Well crap." Harry said shaking his head. "In that case I want Dumbledore by his short and curlys before I step foot into that school." Harry said.

"I think that can be arranged, and if you ever need me I have a phone number and a floo address." She said handing them both a card.

"Thank you madam Bones." Harry said shaking her hand.

By the time they left the bank it was getting late. They stopped off at a bookstore to pick up a few history books and a few advanced spell books before heading out of the wizarding world and to a pizza place in London. The Grangers and Harry sat at a booth eating pizza and not talking. They were all in a state of shock over what happened that day. Finely Dan broke the silence.

"So it looks like you guys are going to be heading off to Hogwarts next year." He said stating the obvious but it was what they needed to hear. Of everything they went through today it was that fact that shocked them both the most

"True," Harry said in a voice full of thought. "We never wanted to attend the school. It sounded like a joke. Axton, a Level headed nice guy even called the school mostly a joke. We both know most of the standard book of spells grade 1-7. We also know advanced Transfiguration. With a few more weeks of summer We'll be as good as Axton was at potions and he was thinking about getting his mastery in the subject… Mastery?" Harry said looking to Hermione.

"Maybe? We both know what we wanted to do after high school. We know how they recruit. You get a black letter on graduation day from Hogwarts. We were planning on breaking into the Department one day and seeing if we could get a job that way. Maybe we go to Hogwarts, test out of most of our classes, or just breeze by them as we study advanced Magics from the library. We take our OWLs as early as they let us, our Newts as soon as we can and get out early. That kind of record setting pace has to get us a black letter." She said with a grin.

"And if that doesn't work we'll sit for our masters in a few subjects." Harry said.

"I'm in if you are." She said.

"I'm in, but we make a set of outs, if they push us too far we walk. We don't need wands and contrary to what Madam Bones said I think 'Harry Potter' can attend any school he wants and sit for his OWLs." Harry said rolling his eyes.

"What are you two talking about?" Dan asked. "What job?"

"Well," Harry started to say but stopped.

"We want to be unspeakables." Hermione said.

"Come again?" Emma asked confused.

"Um, it's like dark creature hunters, and researchers. They study odd things in magic and they hunt down dark creatures that get loose." Harry supplied.

"Right, we will talk about this later, for now we have to get back to the house to relieve the dog sitter." Dan said. Harry and Hermione shared a look and they both knew what it meant. They were going to have to spin this over time so they could get the job they wanted without freaking Dan and Emma out.

They drove back to the Grangers house and let the dog sitter go. Harry and Hermione took the puppies out. And Dan and Emma sat down on the couch with two glasses of scotch.

"What do you think about all this?" She asked.

"I think our little girl is special. I think one day she's going to do extraordinary things. But I think they both forget they're ten." Dan said.

"True, but if everything they told us is true, then they are going to this school next year and we won't be able to see them. They'll be doing God knows what and facing all kinds of danger. Harry is powerful and our little girl is no slouch but I don't know if I can let them go off to some school for ten months out of the year." She said getting emotional.

"Agreed. I don't trust anyone from this magical world besides the old goblin and the law wizard. Those two were straight shooters. They both work for Harry because he is paying them. But everyone else they talked about had some kind of agenda. Even the police chief Bones had an agenda. Did you see how she reacted to the friendship line Harry gave her. She's looking for allies and Harry is some kind of celebrity. I doubt it's for anything bad, and she seems like a good person, but still I don't like the fact that she's coming here. I don't trust any magical as far as I can throw them. They all seem a bit shifty." Dan said.

"I agree," Harry said walking into the room with Hermione and the four dogs. "It's why I fed her the line about friendship to see how she would react. She seems like a good person to have in my corner. If the old man Dumbledore is trying to control me then I'm going to need powerful allies. Tomorrow we'll see what she wants from me, if it's something like an endorsement to run for a higher office or something like that I'll do it. But if it's something else I'll cut ties to her. I don't trust the old man, everything we read about him and everything we were told about him paints a very bad picture for me. He tampered with my mail so I couldn't get my inheritance. He put me with the Dursleys and tampered with their heads so they would beat and mistreat me. I can only imagine why he would do that, and every story I can come up with is bad. We will be getting our letters soon. Bones said Hermione will get a home visit, at that point the curtain will be pulled back on us. We need to get as much support as we can before that happens." Harry said sitting next to Emma on the couch.

"We are a part of this world now, and we can't go back. All we can do is face it with courage and honor. We started out as JedI. We trained and we studied, now we find out we're wizards. I see no difference. I think we continue to study the arts but we keep our JedI identity. We are protectors of those that can't protect themselves. And as for being away from you guys for ten months, I agree that's too long. We will find a way of staying in touch with you. We're not just going to pack up and leave." Hermione said sitting next to her dad.

"You know, you kids really take the fun out of being a parent. Always thinking ahead. Always making mature decisions. It's hardly any fun at all." Dan said hugging Hermione to his side.

"Sorry?" Harry said shrugging. "We'll try to be more irrational in the future?"

"Don't pay any attention to him Harry, you two kids are perfect." Emma said holding Harry closer to her side. The puppies all hopped up on to their laps and for the rest of the night that's how they stayed.

The next day Amelia Bones showed up on their front door step with two girls. A blond and a red head. Emma answered the door.

"Good morning Emma, this is my niece Susan, and her best friend Hannah Abbot." Amelia said as she walked into the house.

"Nice to meet you." Emma said leading them into the family room where Harry, and Hermione were waiting with a table full of objects. Amelia gasped as soon as she saw the skull and cross bone ring in the box.

"The original head of house ring." She said in a reverent tone as she picked it up with shaky hands.

"What is it aunty?" Susan asked.

"A long time ago in the 1600s there was a pirate in the waters of south and central America. His name was captain Bones and he was our however many great times of over grandfather. He was the first one to sail under the Jolly Roger and this was his crest. When his son gave up the pirate life he moved to London and dropped the crossbones from our crest and added Dust to Dust. This, is our family's head of house ring." She said looking from the ring to Harry.

"Wow, cool." Susan said looking at the ring.

"I am forever indebted to you for finding this." She said.

"Like I said friendship means alot to me. I'm just happy I can return this stuff." Harry said.

"You have the humidor too. Are you sure you just want to give this to me?" She asked with a smile.

"Sure." Harry said.

"I'm going to make you regret saying that in a second." She said opening the humidor. She twisted the skull on the inside of the lid and they heard something click. She lifted out the tray of cigars and showed Harry the twenty black little boxes in the hidden compartment. She pulled one out and set it on the floor. She waved her wand at it and expanded to a big trunk. She opened the lid and inside was thousands of gold coins. "You still just want to hand it over?" She asked with a smile.

"Sure. What's gold?" Harry asked waving his hand and making an identical trunk full of gold coins.

"Oh My God." She said looking at the trunk.

"What?" Harry asked grabbing a few coins and tossing them to Dan.

"You can conjure gold?" She asked.

"Sure?" Harry asked making a gold bar and handing it to her.

"But you can't conjure gold. It's one of seven impossible to conjure things." She said.

"But I just did it?" Harry said.

"What are the other things?" Hermione asked.

"Gold, Silver, Platinum, Bronze, Diamond, Ruby, Emerald." She said and Harry conjured each one as she said it. By the time she said Emerald she felt faint and lightheaded. She fell into the couch and shook her head. "How long does the things you make last?" She asked.

"As far as I can tell? A long time. The first thing I conjured was this book, I made it for Hermione's birthday last September." Harry said summoning the book with a thought.

"My Gods, you're a Maker. An arch mage." She said before turning to Hermione. "Can you make these things as well?" She asked.

"No, but I can conjure a lot of other things. Gold has been a real problem for me, now I know why." She said with a smile.

"What's a maker?" Harry asked.

"A maker is a branch of Arch Mages. Let's start from the beginning. To have Magic means you were born with a magical core. A well of power you can tap into to cast spells. There are wizards and witches that are born with huge magical cores and because of their larger cores they have access to outer branches of magic only they can do. Things like wandless magic, enchantments, and rituals. These magic users are called Mages. Both you and Hermione rank in the mage scale. Now there are Mages that are born with even bigger cores and they can do thing with Magic that most regular mages only can only dream about doing. These Mages are called Arch Mages. There are two types of Arch Mages. Elementals, and Makers. Elementals can tap into the power of nature. Things like lightning, fire, earth, water. Makers on the other hand can make anything and it will last forever. Harry, is a maker." She said holding her head.

"Cool. In that case I never need to buy anything ever again." Harry said shrugging as he made a bottle of lemonade and took a sip.

"We never have to go shopping for food and Harry is cooking from now on." Emma said laughing.

"Do you have any idea how powerful you are?" Amelia said looking at Harry.

"I mean I can guess. But this is not something new to me, it just means I can make permanent things. Aside from that this is not earth shattering to me." Harry said.

"Well you would be the first Maker in a few hundred years. Godric Gryffindor himself was the last Maker and he made every stone that went into the castle." Amelia said.

"Cool, can you tell me what this other stuff is?" Harry said waving to the other things on the table.

"Um, sure. These knives and daggers are enchanted. It looks like simple enchantments like sharpness and durability. These curved bladed daggers are made from a fang of some sort and I would bet they were poisoned, I'd watch out for those. This bowl is a Pensive. You can pull memory strands out of your head and place them in the bowl and other people can view them. This broom is a very old clean sweep 4. It was a good broom ten years ago…" Amelia said until Harry cut her off.

"Wait, do you mean this broom flies?" Harry asked picking up the old odd shaped broom and looking it over.

"Yes, it's a fast broom too. The Clean Sweep 4 is the same as a good low end sports car from a decade ago in terms of speed and handling." She said smiling at the smirk on Harry's face.

"How do I make it work?" Harry asked.

"Place the broom on the ground, stand next to it, place your hand over the broom and say up." She said from memory.

Harry set the broom on the floor, stood next to it, and called up before anyone could stop him. The broom shot up into his hand and Harry hopped on and took off out the back door. Hermione and Dan went to go look at him when he shot back into the house and stopped on a dime right next to Hermione.

"You want to give it a go? It's fast and turns very well." Harry said with a smirk.

"No thank you, I'll stay on the ground for now. What is this?" Hermione asked holding up the ruby necklace.

"That is a shield charm enchanted set of jewelry. You would wear that to a party or ball and you would have a shield charm surrounding you so you wouldn't need your wand." She said.

"Cool. I'm going to have to make something similar. It's always good to have a shield so you can't get shot in the back." Hermione said.

"Well it's also good for non-magicals to have." Amelia said.

"Even better idea." Hermione said looking at her mom.

"Well, I think you can keep that one. In fact the only thing I want is the humidor and the house ring, unless there is something important in Axton's trunk. The rest of this is the equivalent of magical nick nacks." Amelia said looking at the daggers.

"I can bring down the trunk but most of it is schoolbooks and uniforms." Harry said.

"Wasn't there another necklace?" Emma asked looking at Harry.

"No, it was just this one. There was a plane gold watch but it didn't feel magical." Harry said giving Emma a look, and she knew it meant keep it quiet.

"Well then, since we have a pensive, I would love to take a look at some of your memories growing up in that house. If that's okay with you." Amelia said bringing the bowel closer to her and activating the runes on the side of the bowel with her wand.

"Sure can you tell me how to pull the memories out?" Harry asked walking up to the bowel.

"Just think about a memory and I'll pull it out for you." Amelia said.

"In that case I'll give you a montage of pain." Harry said closing his eyes. He thought about all the worst moments of his life growing up in that house and when he had three dozen memoires all set he nodded and she pulled a long silver strand out of his head. She put it in the bowel and looked at the group.

"Who wants to view this with me?" Amelia asked.

"Can I?" Emma asked.

"Yes, you don't need magic to view a memory in a pensive." Amelia said.

"Then I think Dan and I would like to see this." Emma said holding Harry's shoulders in a protective way.

"Well I sure as hell don't want to see it. I lived it once, that was enough for me." Harry said touching Emma's hand on his shoulder as he hopped back on the broom and shot out of the house.

"I'll go check on him." Hermione said looking at the glowing bowel and the door.

"No, we'll make sure he's okay, you should see this." Susan said directing her friend Hannah out the back door.

"Okay, everyone take a seat and put your finger in the bowel." Amelia said.

For the next hour Harry's family and Amelia bones watched as Harry was beaten, starved, verbally and emotionally abused. The last memory was the night Harry came back with his new mind trick skill. When the memory faded they came out of the memory and found themselves sitting around the dining room table with tears in their eyes and shocked looks on their faces. Harry stuck his head in the room from the kitchen.

"Good you're done. I have lunch ready. I made sandwiches." He said carrying a platter of finger sandwiches into the room. Susan and Hannah came in behind him with trays holding the tea service, and the pastries. He set down the trays and cleared away the daggers and knives. He next took the pensive and set it on the side board. "You guys were done with that right?" He asked ignoring the sad looks they were giving him.

"Harry…" Emma started to say but Harry stopped her.

"No, I don't need to hear it and you don't have to say anything. You took me in and took care of me. The people that did those thing to me were never my family. I just recently got to know my family. The things that did that were not my aunt and uncle. Those were monsters created by an old man that needed me beaten and weak before he could get his hands on me. He failed. If you treat me like a victim then he wins. I'm not a victim. I'm a warrior. Now lets eat." Harry said.

"Okay." Emma said wiping the tears from her eyes but when Harry came around the table to set a teacup in front of her she grabbed him and hugged him tight "I love you Harry." She said she rubbed his back and felt him sigh. She let go and she smiled when he went back to passing out teacups like it didn't happen. Dan touched his arm and Hermione pulled him into a tight hug and forced him to sit next to her so she could hold his hand.

"Well you might want to act like that didn't happen but I'm going to fill out a very long report when I get back to the office. We have no proof it was the old man that set this in motion and even if we did we couldn't get a conviction with him basically running the government, but we can use this as leverage. We can attack him in the court of opinion and score more points then we could in a court of law. We can also hold it over his head to make sure he keeps his hands off you while you attend Hogwarts." Amelia said.

"Good, I don't really care if I ever attend that school and I can care less about a wand. If that old man tries to play games with me I'll walk out of that school and walk right into the newspaper office and give them a copy of that memory. Just because I don't like being a victim doesn't mean I can't play one. I'm famous, weather I like it or not. With that fame comes a fan base and I will turn them on the old man the first chance I get." Harry said.

"Harry, it might be a good idea to copy that memory and give it to a few people to hold onto in case something happens to you. Also it's good to have someone on the outside holding something over his head just to make sure your days at Hogwarts go as smoothly as possible." Amelia said.

"That's a good idea. We'll make three copies, one will stay with the Grangers, one will go to my Law-witch Andromeda. I think another copy should stay with you so you can show the old man you have him by the short and curlies." Harry said.

"Good thinking. Now we have to talk about what our plans are moving forwards. We have basically three to five weeks before Hermione gets a home visit from Minerva Mcgonagall. She the old man's second in command and we need to know if she's in on the whole plot to undermine you or if she's an unwitting pawn in the old man's schemes. We have a few options, but I think we should play this off like you don't know what's coming and mind trick her into spilling the beans. I have little in the way of legal maneuvering with her just like the old man, but if you were caught off guard by a witch coming into your house and you whammied her with you mind powers then any information gained would be legally binding under the laws of a head of house. You have Head of House status and as soon as you get the visit and get her to confess any wrong doing than we can go on the offensive. The bank will release your head of house status, I'll contact the old man and tell him in no uncertain terms that I know what he did to you and we have damming political proof that would ruin him if he doesn't play ball. At that point you just have to wait for the beginning of the school year and see how things play out. If you get to school and he treats you like a normal student then we hold back and let Andromeda handle things in the courtroom. If he singles you out or you feel like your life is in danger contact me and I'll be there in minutes to get you out and I'll have Andy go to the Prophet with the memory. We just need a way to make phone calls inside the school." Amelia said.

"Will this work?" Harry asked making a copy of Dan's Motorola MicroTAC 8900.

"I think it might? How does it work?" Amelia asked.

"Well I just copied Dan's phone and made it run on magic. Let's see." Harry said hitting 1 on the phone. The house phone rang and Emma picked it up. "Is it clear? Can you hear me?" He asked.

"Well of course I can hear you, you're right here." She said making them all laugh.

"Right, I'll be right back." Harry said putting the phone in his pocket, grabbing his broom, and shooting out of the house a few seconds later he was at the back of the woods behind the house. "How about now?" He asked.

"Loud and clear. I can't believe you made a magic phone." She said sounding shocked.

"I'm going to hang up now and see if I can call Dan." Harry said before hanging up, he hit 2 and the phone rang a few times before Dan picked up. "Can you hear me?" He asked.

"I can, now came back to the house and make me one. The bill for this one is staggering." Dan said laughing.

"Right, I'll be right back." Harry said hanging up.

He flew back to the house and made a few more phones. He gave one to Dan, Emma, Amelia, and Hermione. Each one was numbered on the back and the number corresponded to the number you punched in to call that phone.

"Good, now I can call every night." Emma said with a big smile.

"I must admit I've been thinking about something like this for a while." Harry said.

"So now we have a way to keep in touch. I think I'm going to make the copies of the memory and head off to Andy's office. Can you make a phone for her, and I'll give it to her." Amelia asked walking over to the pensive.

That afternoon when Amelia left with the two girls the Grangers and Harry sat on the couch and talked. It was decided they would spend the next few weeks until the visit from Mcgonagall practising spells and lightsaber dueling. If they did run into trouble in the school they would be able to fight back. They started wearing the dragon hide vest everyday under their clothes to get comfortable wearing them and soon getting up in the morning and putting on the vest became second nature to them. It was something the elder Grangers saw them do but they never said anything. Hermione was sure it was just a form of denial her parents were in.

Three weeks later the day finally came. The grangers were just about to sit down for lunch when someone rang the bell. Hermione went to get the door and found an old severe looking woman in a strict looking dark red dress that covered her from neck to ankle. She smiled a very half hearted smile at Hermione.

"Hello dear, I'm here to talk to your parents. Are they home?" She asked.

"They are, hold one second." Hermione said with a gentle smile before turning around and calling for her Mom. Emma came to the door and after a round of pleasantries she let the witch into the house. She shared a look with Dan and he walked back into the kitchen where Harry was keeping an eye on the fish. Harry's smile fell of his face when he saw Dan.

"She's here?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Dan said.

"Good, call Amelia and tell her it's time for the fun to start." Harry said shutting off the stove and wiping his hands on a kitchen towel.

Harry waited just long enough for Dan to get Amelia on the phone before walking into the room as Mcgonagall was pulling out a few pamphlets and Hermione's letter. She took one look at him and almost passed out. It was a combination of shock at seeing him in the house and not expecting him. She schooled her face and tried to play it cool but the jig was up. They all saw her shocked look. She tried to think on her feet and figure out what to do.

"Is there something wrong Professor?" Hermione asked with a smirk.

"No, um who might this be?" Mcgonagall asked.

"This is my friend Harry Potter. Harry this lady was trying to tell us that our Force powers are magic, can you believe that?" Hermione said with a laugh.

"Magic?" Harry asked laughing.

"What do you mean Force powers?" Mcgonagall asked really starting to look panicked.

"Well, for a few years now we've been able to use the Force." Harry said lifting the pamphlets out of her hand and pulling them to him. If she was shocked before now she looked ready to run out of the house.

"Is that all you can do?" She asked.

"No, but it's all I'm willing to share with you at this time." Harry said with a smirk.

"If you'll excuse me I need to make a call." Mcgonagall said trying to get up and run out of the house but when she got to the door she hit the wards which Harry triggered when he walked into the room. The professor whipped out her wand and Harry jumped in front of her.

"You will tell me what I want to know." He intoned in a calm but firm voice and her eyes glazed over.

"I will tell you what you want to know." She said but he could see she was struggling.

"Did you know about the compulsions on my family to beat and mistreat me?" He asked.

"No." She said fighting her mouth the whole time.

"Did you know I was being beaten and mistreated?" Harry asked adding more power into his spell.

"Noooo...not really." She said looking more shocked.

"What does not really mean? I want facts!" Harry intoned pushing with his power.

"I overhead a conversation between Arabella Figg and Albus she said you were being mistreated by your family and he told her he was watching the situation very closely and that you needed discipline and that the Dursley's were just teaching you some discipline." She said fighting with all her might to stop talking.

"And you bought that?" Harry asked trying to not freak out about the fact that Mrs. FIgg was magical.

"Not at first but he told me we could not interfere with the discipline of a kid outside of our control. He also said you were a little delinquent. That you needed to be punished for the bad things you did." She said turning red as the blood rushed to her head.

"Did you suspect the old man was doing anything wrong?" Harry asked.

"N….. ye… not really." She managed to fight out.

"We can play this game all night professor. You walked into this house and then you tried to rush out and when you bounced off the wards you drew your wand. Under the law you attempted to harm the Head of an Ancient and Noble House. Now out with the details!" Harry said pushing more power into the spell.

"I know Albus has been manipulating people his whole life but it's always for the greater good." She gasped out.

"Greater good my ass, Did you know he was tampering with my mail to keep me from getting my titles and assets?" He asked asked with a booming voice.

"Yes. He said you needed to know more about the world and how it worked before you were handed the burden of your title." She said shaking hard.

"Harry, you're hurting her. Let her go." Hermione said.

"This is our chance to get information." Harry said looking at his friend before turning back to the professor.

"Harry, you're using your power to hurt someone. Harry look at me, you're turning to the dark side." She said in a calm but powerful voice.

Harry turned back to her and saw the look of disappointment in her eyes. He also saw the fear in Emma and Dan's eyes. He sank a few inches into himself and dropped his hand as well as the wards.

"You are free to go. You tell the old man I know what he's up to. I'm not the weak and beaten puppy he was expecting to show up at his joke of a school, I am an Arch Mage, and if he thinks he can fuck with me I'll take his political power, burn his reputation, and end his fucking life. I am not to be trifled with. Begone minion of the old man." He said.

Mcgonagall took one look at the power rolling off his form and ran out of the house and popped away as fast as she could. Harry turned to look at his family and sighed as he fell to his knees in front of Hermione.

"I went too far." He said softly.

"Yes you did, but it needed to be said. Maybe not like that but it needed to be said. The old man needs to know not to mess with us." Hermione said hugging Harry's head to her chest.

"I think I need to sit and meditate on what I just did." Harry said softly as he stood up and walked out of the house. Blaze saw him walk out the back door and ran up to him. He saw the sad look on his master's face and licked his face.

"Hey boy. I need to sit by the tree and think." Harry said petting his now big dog. Max was a good two foot tall at the shoulders and he weighed more than Harry. But he was not fat he was all lean muscle. Harry walked out to the back of the yard and took a seat under the big oak tree. He sat crossed legged and let his mind fall away. He took time to think about his actions and his misuse of power.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: this chapter brings in the adults of the story and we get to see what the adults are doing and how they are reacting to Harry. we also get to see the dark lord Dumbledore and how he reacts to Harry.

Minerva ran up the stairs to Albus's office and barged right in. Albus saw the shocked look on her face and the fact that she was drained magically and emotionally. She walked right passed his desk and took the decanter of firewhiskey off the drinks cart. She didn't even bother with the glass she took a drink right from the decanter. Albus tried to ask her what happened but she shut him up with a look that brokered no back talk.

"You will tell me right now what you did to the Potter boy! You will not lie to me and you will not shade the truth. You do and I'll walk away from this school!" She shouted as she took a second drink this time she filled a glass.

"Minerva, what happened?" He asked.

"I went to a muggle borns house to do an orientation. Her name is Hermione Granger. Harry Potter was there and he knew how to do wandless magic! He showed me some and I got spooked so I tried to leave the house to tell you about it but the wards locked me in the house. Wards! On a muggle house! I pulled out my wand and I was locked in place by Harry. He was expecting me to pull my wand! It was a trap! The whole thing was! He used a mind compilation on me and tried to get information out of me! I couldn't hold back. He's too powerful. He knew about his inheritance! His title! He even knew you put him with the Dursleys! He knew about you tampering with his mail and he said he knew you were playing him. NOW YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT YOU DID!" She screamed losing her last bit of calm.

But Albus didn't say a thing, he just fell back into his chair and looked shocked. That's when his fireplace lit up and Amelia's face showed up. He took one look at the victorious look on her face and he knew his goose was cooked even before she opened her mouth.

What followed was a very eye opening conversation in which Amelia talked and Albus sat at his desk looking more and more sick. Minerva, for her part sat at the desk and looked more and more shocked as Amelia talked about the abuse Harry lived with under the roof Albus put him and the fact that the blood wards didn't even exist. What was worse was the fact that she had just enough proof to sink him but not enough to make a case stick. But it didn't matter. His plans and plots were sunk, his second in command looked at him like he was something she stepped in and Amelia looked like the cat who ate the canary. In ten minutes his world came crashing down around him. They wouldn't care that Tom was still alive, they wanted blood and they would take it from his back.

"And if you so much as look at that boy when he comes to that school in september I will take great pleasure in destroying you. For too long you've plotted and planned now that shit ends right now. From now on you work with me or I'll burn you and rebuild this country on the ashes of your reputation. I'm done with half measures and your bullsthit. I'll give you a few days to get your head out of your ass, then me and you are going to have a little conversation about the ministry and how it's going to run in the future." Amelia said ending the call before he could say a word.

"ANd I will also give you a few days to get your head out of your ass before we have a conversation. You may or may not be headmaster after we're done talking. You lie to me or try to shade the truth and I'll do much worse then she will. I know about Grindelwald. How would the Prophet like to know you two used to be a thing?" She said standing on unsteady legs and walking out of the room.

Albus took out a black book from his desk and looked at it. The book was old and worn. Inside were decades of plans. Marriages he "helped" set up. Power he "helped" spread out over the wizarding world. But more importantly his plans for the future. He had the next twenty years mapped out in painstaking detail. He looked at the book one last time before he banished it into the fire. As he watched his plans for the future of the wizarding world burn he sat in deep contemplation. Did he go too far? Was there such a thing as too far when it came to the future of the world? He didn't know but he needed to have a talk with Severus.

Minerva walked into her one bedroom apartment in the castle and tossed a handful of floo powder into her fireplace. She called out Amelia's office and stuck her head in. When she stopped spinning she looked up and saw Amelia sitting at her desk looking at the fireplace with an expectant and miffed look on her face. It was at this moment Minerva realised she made a rash call.

"Was there something I could do for you?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, I would like to see the memory." Minerva said looking sheepish.

"Why?" Amelia asked.

"I have to see how far he went. I know he did what he did because he thought it was for a greater good but I want to see how far he went for no good reason. I want to know if the man I followed for all these years has finally gone dark. I want to know…" She trailed off.

"If you were complacent in your vigilance and allowed your leader to become a dark lord?" Amelia said filling in the sentence she let hang in the air.

"Yes." Minerva said looking haunted.

"Come through, I'll open the wards for you." Amelia said.

A few minutes later and Minerva saw sitting in front of a bowel full of silver. She looked at Amelia who was sitting across the desk from her and she saw the haunted look in her eyes. She knew this was going to change her, she didn't know how or what the end results would be. She took a deep breath and stuck her hand in the bowel. An hour later she jumped out of her seat as a sobs rocked her body.

"What did you do? What did you do you crazy old man? What did I let happen? How long has…" She stopped short as the weight of her decisions over the last, she didn't even know how long, hit her like a ton of bricks. Her legs buckled and she fell on her ass. Amelia came around her desk and handed Minerva a handkerchief. She helped her up and sat her back in the chair.

"Minerva, things are changing, the world is changing, and the old man is not fit to run the world going forward. No one man should. We both know he will never see the inside of a jail cell for this. We also both know this country can't handle the truth of all of this coming out. What we need is for him to get his head out of his ass and willingly sit down with us and commit to making some changes. The school is pumping out weak witches and wizards. The Death Eaters not only got away without jail time they actively run the country through the weak and spineless Fudge. The Wizengamot is full of fat lazy purebloods that will never lift a finger to stop their pureblood friends from committing crimes. My department is so under funded we will never be able to hold off a new dark lord and you know one is coming. The country learned nothing since the last dark uprising. We can't afford to let the old man play god anymore. He's got so much power and so many titles that he's dropped the ball on everything. The school, the wizengamot, I can only imagine what the ICW thinks of us if he's the man we send to deal with them." Amelia said handing minerva a glass of scotch.

Minerva sat there sipping her drink for a few minutes mulling it all over in her head. "How can I Help?" She finally asked looking up at Amelia.

"I need you to take charge of things at the school if we have to burn the old man. If not then I need you to keep him in check. Now what I'm hoping is that he comes to his senses and joins us at the table freely. If not then I'll hold his feet to the fire and make him submit. I need you to keep the pressure on at the school. Keep pushing for change. Fire the shit teachers you have and hire better ones, stop the infighting between the houses, and expel the Death Eaters spawn when they get into trouble." Amelia said.

"It won't be easy, Malfoy has a good grasp on the school." Minerva said thinking about her task.

"That won't be an issue, I'm planning on expending every resource I have to make his life a living hell. Harry is a Maker Minerva. A Maker, we have unlimited resources at our disposal. I talked to Ragnok about it and he's on board with this plan. Harry's been making gold bars and adding them to his account. Ragnok has been using the gold to buy up stock and controlling interests in companies owned by Death Eaters. It's slow going to keep it under wraps but soon Harry will own half the wizarding world and once he owns the companies he's going to have Andromeda vote proxy for him and have the Death Eaters voted out of the companies. If that doesn't work he's going to dilute the stock, if that doesn't work he'll publicly boycott the company and their stock prices will plummet. Harry finally grasped the fact that he has a name and he can use it for good. On the legal front I'm going to raid Malfoy's house every week until I find something. And if I can't put him away at first then I'll go after the rest of the death eaters first. He'll have no friends, no money, and no power." Amelia said.

"You've been thinking about this for a while haven't you? Have you always wanted power Amelia?" Minerva asked.

"No, and to tell you the truth I don't want power now, I want Justice! I fought a war and lost every member of my family but my niece. After the war the Death Eaters walked free and they took power of the country without having to kill. They did it with money, and the old man let it happen because he had a hard on for keeping control. Now I'm going to dedicate my life to fixing this country. You can help me or hinder me." Amelia said.

"I'm going to help you. What are you going to do about the Wizengamot?" Minerva asked.

"I'm going to bust most of them for being Death Eaters and the one's I can't get that way I'll out maneuver through a voting block gridlock. Now that the cat is out of the bag Andy will sit in Harry's seat and start voting to enact new laws. Laws that will make Purebloods face the same jail time as non-purebloods. We have Augusta Longbottom on our side, we also have Diggery, Abbot, Cornfoot, Brown, and Macmillan. With you in your seat that gives us a voting block of nine. With the old man on our side we get his lap dog Arthur weasley, we also get Marchbanks and her voting block of super old timers. That's 11 more votes bringing us up to 20 Votes. The Death Eaters hold 30 votes between them and the people they control. However if we get Fudge voted out of office then he goes and so does his under secretary. If we get dirt on a few of the members being controlled by the Death Eaters or if we imprison the Death Eaters then it frees up more votes. In two years we can have all new laws in place and we can start filling Azkaban with Death Eaters." Amelia said coldly.

"So you've been building a coalition already? Good. I'm tired of sitting on my hands and waiting for Albus to plot and scheme. I'll do my part, but I want something in return. I want to meet with Harry and apologise for not checking up on him. I loved his parents and I just left the boy… I'm going to Kill Albus!" She said letting her anger surface.

"Minerva, relax. You can come with me to dinner at their house. Harry wants to apologize for hurting you. He has so much power and he could be the worst dark lord in history with the way he grew up but instead he has a strict moral code and he tries very hard to stick to it. Today he let his anger take control of him and he feels terrible for it. Susan will come through the floo in a few minutes and then we'll portkey to the backyard from here." Amelia said.

"Good, I feel like I made a fool of myself earlier." Minerva said shaking her head as her ears turned red.

"Well don't worry about it. For now we need to talk about your boss, do you think he's turned dark? Of do you think he's just a fool with too much power?" Amelia asked.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure anymore. A long time ago he was brilliant. An alchemist, a war mage, a master planner. If he did these things fifty years ago I would have said he was a dark lord. Now? I'm not sure if he's that on top of things as he once was. Over the years i'm seen things. Little things, like he misplaces things. He doesn't eat well, his sleep patterns are all off. He can't remember things like the password to his office unless it's the name of a candy. I think decades of plotting and planning have driven him mad. He's slowly going senile." Minerva said out loud and Amelia could tell it was the first time Minerva ever said the words. "How did I not see it?" She asked softly.

"You were blind to his faults. When you see a leader start to fall you don't notice it at first, but now we have to do something about it. We'll talk about it later. For now you need to start wearing this." Amelia said handing her a big ruby pendent on a gold chain.

"What is it?" Minerva asked feeling the magic rolling off the stone.

"A protection ward. Harry made a few dozen of them. It protects you from mind intrusion, poisons, and spell fire." Amelia said.

"How did he… Maker, right. I almost forgot about that little detail. A Maker!" Minerva said shaking her head as she put the chain over her head, as soon as the pendent touched her chest she felt warmth and comfort. She smiled a soft smile and sighed.

"It's something else isn't it?" Amelia asked with a smile.

"I really need to apologise." Minerva said shaking her head.

Later that evening the three women portkeyed into the Granger's back yard. When they landed they saw Harry still under the tree sitting cross legged in deep meditation next to a big gray dog. Minerva approached Harry as the two bones women continued into the house. The sun was slowly setting giving the sky an orange color. When she got within ten feet of him the dog's head popped up and locked eyes with her stopping her in her tracks. He looked deep in her soul and after a few seconds he nodded and layed his head back down. Minerva stood next to Harry and was unsure of what to say to him. Lucky for her Harry was willing to start the conversation.

"For the last three years I've been trying very hard to understand my powers. Until last year I just though there were a few powers. Push, pull, levitate, mind trick, but as I tapped into more of my core I learned just how powerful I was. Since then I've spent a lot of time in deep contemplation. With so much power I have the temptation of using my skills for evil. So I made a deal with myself to try very hard to use my power for good. I would abstain from using my powers for for personal gain. Sure I would make things for my family. Gold to pay for things and make things to have, and give as gifts, but never for anything else. A few weeks ago I met Amelia, and since then I've been bending my rules and so far almost everything I've done can be considered good. I've made gold to buy stock in companies run by bad men. But today I went very deep into the darker side of the Force. Today I used my power to hurt you and extract information out of you. For that I am deeply sorry." Harry said in a very sad tone of voice.

"No, Harry, I am the one that is sorry. I taught your parents and I considered them to be friends. They were both good people. And I let my dedication to a man I once considered a leader to blind me from the truth that you should have been checked up on. We all failed. Your parents were part of a group that helped to fight the last war. They gave their lives to defeat the dark lord and we in turn put there only son in a home with muggles. Even if you were not being abused we should have looked in on you. Talked to you. Taught you about your parents. Showed you your heritage. Instead we followed orders blindly. We all left you in hell and we never thought about you. For that I know I will never be able to forgive myself and I can never ask you to forgive me. What I can do is the job I should have done from the very beginning. Which is to protect the son of two people I once considered my own children. What I can do is tell you everything about your parents." Minerva said with tears streaming down her face.

"I think I would like that very much." Harry said standing up. He stood there for a second not sure what to do or say until Minerva pulled him into her chest and hugged him as hard as she could.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed holding him tight.

"I can't breath." Harry muffled out.

"Oh! Did I hurt you?" She asked pulling back to look him over. Now that she got a good look at him she could see just how big he was for his age. He was tall, and thin, but not skinny. He was well built and his muscles rippled under his skin like cords.

"No, I'm tougher than I look. But what we can start with is, what were my parents like?" Harry asked leading the older woman back to the house with Blaze by his side.

"Your parents were good people. Well your mother was. Lily was a bright ray of sunshine that made the world better just by being. James was a bit of a little jerk when he was younger but he grew up and became a good man. In fact he became my most gifted apprentice. There was a time when you almost grew up at the castle. Both your parents were apprenticing to become teachers and get their masters of magic. Your father was going to help me teach transfiguration and your mother was a charms master…" She said as they walked into the house she stopped talking however when they walked in and she saw the Grangers. It was at that moment she forgot to apologise to these people for causing a scene in their living room. The Grangers for their part saw the look and again for the second time that evening Minerva was spared the embarrassment of having to come up with an opening line. This time it was Dan.

"Look, you drew your wand in the house, we trapped you into an interrogation. I say we call it even and move on from there, how about you?" Dan said with a half smile.

"Yes I think we can call it even. Thank you for letting me back into your home." She said with a sheepish smile.

"Amelia vouched for you. If she says you're a good person then you're on our side." Dan said.

"Professor Mcgonagall was just telling me about my parents." Harry prompted the teacher to get her to go back to the topic at hand.

"Right, where was I?" Minerva said.

"Mom was a Charms master and dad was a transfiguration master." Harry said as they all sat down at the table.

That evening Minerva talked to Harry and the Grangers and answered any and all of their questions she was as honest and forthcoming as she could be and with her good natured attitude and her honest opinions she earned some much needed points with the family. She even asked if they would like for her to take them to the alley to get their school supplies but they declined. There was no need to head back to the alley, they had Axton's school supplies and what they didn't have or needed two copies of like textbooks and thing like that Harry would make for them.

That night Minerva took a portkey back to Amelia's office and before she flooed back to the castle she took a copy of the memory with her. She landed in her apartment and a house elf was waiting for her.

"The headmaster is be requesting you in his office." The little elf in a red pillow case with the house crest said.

"Well you can inform the Headmaster he can take his request and shove it up his arss for all I care. I'll see him when I'm good and ready. Until then I might just kill the old bastard if I see him. Can you tell him all that or would you like me to write a note?" Minerva asked.

"Um…" The house elf said wringing his hands.

"I'll write a note." Minerva said patting the small elf on the back with a soft smile.

The elf took the note and popped into the headmaster's office. Albis saw the note and knew it was going to be bad. After reading the short but concise note he nodded and dismissed the elf. It was too soon. She needed to calm down a bit but when she was calm he would tell her that Tom was still alive and she would see he was just looking out for the wizarding world. Tom killed so many during the war and a second war would destroy the country. Surely one boy's suffering when weighed against the death of the world was nothing. He just had to spin it his way and make sure he gave out enough information to stay out of jail and more importantly out of the papers but maintain his hold on the future. His plans would have to change but he was sure he could still save the world and save his reputation. He reached into the candy dish and took another lemon sherbet. He popped it into his mouth and nodded as the strength of Severus' words replayed in his head. Everything I did was for the greater good. He would really have to thank Severus for keeping his candy dish full. He always had better ideas after sucking on a hard candy.

The next week was eventful for all the parties involved. Andy brought her defamation lawsuit to the wizengamot on Monday. Her case was a simple one, Harry Potter, nor his gardens never gave anyone permission to use Harry's name ever. Therefor everything with Harry's name on it was in violation of the laws regarding the trading on an old pureblood name. She spun her arguments in a way that made not voting in favor of her client would undermined the law in the future and anyone could sell any product with their name on it. The first ones to vote in favor of the lawsuit were the old purebloods with companies that used the family name. People like Ogden, Crow, and Greengrass. And with those people and the voting block she built the vote was almost a unanimous decision. That evening hundreds of companies received cess and disses letters.

The next morning Andy took her case to the Prophet and really made those companies wish they never traded on the boy who lived name. She spun the piece as it was. These companies were trading on their savior's name to sell lies and junk to an unsuspecting wizarding public with the sole goal of getting rich on the back of an orphan. By monday of the next week every one of the companies that got a letter contacted Andy's office to work out a settlement. If Harry was the kind of person that cared about money he would have been ecstatic at the amount of gold he got from the lawsuit, as it was he shrugged when she handed him the balance sheet with the total and told her to take double her normal ten percent fee and put the rest into the war fund. That morning Andy was a moderately wealthy attorney with thirty thousand galleons in her bank account, that night she had just under eight million galleons in her account. Her husband Ted was exsatic, and her daughter was shocked into silence.

Harry spent the week training with Hermione, Susan, and Hannah. Since the day the came over with Amelia the two girls started hanging out at the house during the day to practice wandless magic and lightsaber dueling. So far the two girls were progressing nicely and having one on one training from both Harry and Hermione helped them make sizable leaps in a short time. By the end of July they were getting the hang of the simple Force powers and they were skilled enough with a lightsaber to not burn themselves. But Harry also made sure to spend time with the Granger's as much as he could. He wanted to soak up as much love and happiness as he could before they shipped off to the castle. He knew he was going to hate the school. Wizards for the most part were lazy, and unwilling to learn more then they needed to, to become 'adult wizards'. That included normal book smarts. As someone that dedicated his life to become a Jedi he knew living with these lazy stupid wizards was going to test his calm. He knew he was going to have to cling to Hermione to maintain that sense of calm and home.

He also started on the potions books Axton wrote himself. Each of the three books was full of pages and pages of modified potions. Harry started out by making a few with the supplies in Axton's very big potions kit but soon he found himself running out of ingredients. He started making these ingredients but after a while he had a thought. He studied the advanced healing potions Axton made and after looking at the instructions for a few minutes to make sure he had it all down he held out his hand and a glass vial with red glowing liquid was sitting in his hand. Harry took out his pocket knife and ran the blade down his forearm. It hurt like hell but he was learning to control the pain centers in his brain thank's to a book on the mind arts. He took a sip from the potion and the cut healed instantly. Harry smiled and made a big potion's rack and set it up on his desk in his room at the Granger's house. Over the next few days he made a few more potions. It was draining, but if it was an emergence and he needed a potion he could now make them.

Amelia for her part gathered her most trusted and loyal Aurors into her office. There were ten of them in total but all of them were hold overs from the last war and all of them had lost friends and family to the war. These were soldiers with real stake in the coming war. When they were all in her office she sealed the room and told them her plan for taking over the wizarding world and cleaning it up, she made them all swear allegiance to her and with that she had them dig into Fudge and his undersecretary. She also had them start digging up dirt on suspected and pardoned Death Eaters. By monday of the next week they had files on everyone but Amelia didn't pounce on her prey yet, she had them keep digging. She needed the old man on her side so she could oust Fudge and then she could start arresting Death Eaters. If she arrested them now they would be back on the streets in a week and every bit of evidence they collected would be burned for the future. Instead she met with the old man in his office on Wednesday morning.

"Amelia, has it been three days already?" He asked in a tired tone as she walked into his office without knocking.

"Yes it has, now you and me are going to have a little chat. When I'm done, I'll either be headed back to my office to keep working or I'll be heading to the Prophet with a very interesting story, and before you even think about threatening me, the story, the memory strand, and mind healer results are being held by several different people. You can try to take us down but if something happens to one of us. If we suddenly change our tune or if we all of a sudden die then your ass is burned. We both know you would never see jail time for any crime you committed but we also both know you're not afraid of a jail cell, your afraid of the people finding out you're a dark asshole." She said in a cold tone.

"Name calling Amelia? Do we really have to sink so low?" He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Fuck low. I want you to view this memory then I want you to tell me if swearing is appropriate or not." Amelia said placing an Auror's pensive on his desk and pouring the silver memory in. "You will view this and then you will have ten minutes to explain to me why you did this." Amelia said in a cold voice.

"If you insist." Albus said sighing as he stuck his finger in the pensive. One hour later and he came out looking raw and green but resolute. "Having witnessed the failure in my planning I must admit this is bad. But I have to say that this was not my plan in the slightest. I put Harry in his aunt's house and I set up blood wards. I also put minor competitions on them to treat him like a normal boy. I wanted Harry to grow up as a normal muggle boy. To have a normal muggle upbringing. I never checked up on him because I didn't want to interfere. Harry was supposed to grow up with no knowledge of our world. I made it this way so that when he got to the magic world he would be in awe of the wonder of our world. I needed him to be so indebted to the magic world that he would be willing to fight Voldemort when he comes back." Albus said.

"Come again?" Amelia said trying very hard to not slap the man.

"Voldemort is still alive. He used a ritual to cheat death. That night when the Potters were killed I was one of the first ones to get to the house. His magical essence was still lingering on the house. He's still out there and one day he's going to find a way to get his body back. When that happens the world will end. Unless, Harry fights him and kills him for good. Harry is an Arch Mage. I tested him when he was born. He is the only one powerful enough to kill Voldemort for good. He is the only one that has the power to kill him and break the ritual he used to keep himself from dying. Now if Harry potter grew up a pampered little pureblood prince with money and house elves and fans he would never be willing to fight Voldemort when he gets his body back. But if he grew up poor, and as a muggle? He'd be willing to do anything to save the world that took him in. Now Amelia, I ask you, having lived through the last war, is one child's happiness worth the end of the world?" Albus asked sitting back in his seat and taking a candy from the dish.

Amelia sat there in quiet contemplation as she thought about everything he just said. She was weighing the pros and cons of his logic and thinking, but then she saw him smile as he popped a second candy in his mouth and the anger inside her chest swelled to the surface.

"You sick twisted old fuck you. You think we're all chess pieces in your own little board game. Well fuck you. Fuck you and your games. As of three weeks ago your whole plan that was built on a house of card to begin with collapsed. Harry doesn't even want to join the magical world and let me tell you this your plan to keep him in the dark and feed him the bulshit you just spun for me would have resulted in him walking away. The fact that you tried to withhold his title put the final nail in the coffin for you. Harry would sooner watch the world burn then help you after what you did to him." She said with a cold smile. As she said this she could see the color drain out of his face.

"He can't, he has to face Voldemort. We have no hope of winning without him. He must come to this school so he can be trained to face voldemort!" He said looking panicked.

"What if I was to make you a deal. Step down as Headmaster and Harry would be willing to join the magical world. Would you do it?" She asked.

"I can't! I have to be here to mold and shape the boy so he can face the dark lord." He said.

"It's not going to fly with him. He hates you and the thought of being in this castle with the man responsible for the torture he grew up with would eat at him." She said.

"How about this, he comes to the school and I promise to not interact with the boy. But if the dark lord shows his face then I'll arrange for him to get training." Albus said looking panicked. She had him up against the wall on this.

"I'll bring it to him, but the first time he think's you're playing him, he will walk away from this school and our world. The boy is a very powerful Archmage and he doesn't need this school." Amelia said.

"Please Amelia, the boy must be looked after and taught." Albus said.

"Fine, but if the dark lord is really coming back then we need to do more than pin all our hopes on a boy that wants nothing to do with our world thanks to you. We need to start fixing the other problems and weaken the dark lord's power base before he regains a body. Now like I said before I can burn you and do this the hard way or you can work with me and we can clean up our country. We have to get rid of Fudge. We have to then get rid of these death eaters. Azkaban has a lot of free cells thanks to Fudge taking bribery money. We need to fill those cells!" She said with emphasis.

"And you want me to make you minister so you can do all this good work?" He asked.

"Yes. I'm tired of fighting with one arm tied behind my back. We need to stamp out the corruption now!" She said getting angry at his wording of the question.

"And once you're minister, what's to stop you from turning against me?" He asked.

"What's to stop me from burning you now you old fool! I'm tired of your games. Are you going to help me fix the mess you made by trying to be the biggest dick in the room or are you going to sit on your ass and watch the world burn just so you can keep hold of what little power you think you still have left. I'm not a politician old man. I'm an Auror. I'm not eloquent but I'm honest. Now are we working together or are you going to fight me and watch the world burn?" She asked sitting back in her chair.

"I will help you but I'm not making you minister. You want the job you have to campaign for it. I'm also endorsing Arthur for the job." The old man said.

"Really? You think you have some leverage here? You think you can dictate terms with me?" She said asked.

"You have dirt on me, I have dirt on you. How do you think I stayed in power all this time?" Albus said.

"Dirt? What dirt? I'm the cleanest person in the ministry." She said looking confused.

"July 10, 1978. You and your team were responding to a Death Eater attack. You attacked a group of Death Eaters trying to attack a muggleborn's house. You exchanged spell fire and when your partner was dropped by a killing curse you threw one back. That death eater turned out to be Ogden's son and he didn't have a dark mark. I have the memory of that night. Now, I will allow you to blackmail me on behalf of Harry. But if you're going to use that information against me to get the minister job and further your own career then I will bring charges against you for use of the killing curse against an unmarked death eater. You want to play politic? This is politics. When you bring down Fudge and his cronies, I will move to have an interim minister put in place for the next nine months until a real Minister can be elected during the regular election in May. We will both pick someone we trust to hold the office until the election. For now I want you to leave my office before I make a call to the Prophet. Top Auror killed the innocent son of prominent wizarding family is just as good of a headline as anything you can come up with." He said popping another candy as he folded his hands.

"One day, when you're dead the people of the wizarding world will know your were the worst dark lord we ever had in this country. I look forward to the line of people waiting to piss on your grave." She said getting up and walking out of the room. The old man just smirked and sucked on his lemon candy.

She made it all the way back to her office before her legs stopped working. She was fucked and if that was what he had on her, a women that spent most of her life trying extremely hard not to break the law then what did that sick old fuck have on the rest of the world? She would need to take this to the group and figure out how they were going to proceed from here. She took the bottle of scotch out of her desk drawer and poured two fingers in her empty coffee mug. She sat there staring at the mug for a few minutes before Emmeline Vance knocked on her door. Emma was one of her most trusted Aurors and a long time friend. She walked in and saw the look on her bosses face and knew something was up. When she saw the bottle on the desk she knew it was bad.

"What's going on boss?" She asked taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"I was just at the castle to see the old man. I tried to get him to play ball and help me keep our planes moving forwards. When he said no I tried to blackmail him. He inturn gave me a detailed run down of the night of July, 10, 1978." Amelia said finally taking a drink from her mug. As the warm scotch burned her throat going down she felt the comforting warmth that came with drinking when you felt shaken up.

"What happened that night? Or is it better off if I don't know?" She asked.

"Remember James Ogden? That was the night I killed him. I'll just say that much incase the old man puts me on trial for it." Amelia said.

"So he's not willing to help us fix the country?" She asked looking shocked.

"Oh, he'll help us pass the laws and prosecute the DEs, but he's not endorsing me for the mayor job and he's putting his lapdog wesley's name into the hat for the job. He's not giving up control to other people he's doubling down on his power grab. On top of all that the dark lord might not be dead. And yes before you freak out, it might be some bullshit the old man cooked up to get off the hook for the shit he did but if it's not and that old fuck is in control of the ship when we enter into a second war with the dark lord then we're all going to die." Amelia said sighing into her drink.

"Well, what if neither of you take the job? Do you really want to be the minister?" Emmeline asked.

"Not really, but I know it's a hell of alot easier to get things done in this ministry if you're the top dog. I mean unless we can find someone that the old man will sign off on and we can still control." Amelia said going back to her drink.

"You mean someone like Aurora Sinistra?" Emmaline said.

"In the words of the virgin Mary, Come again?" Amelia said looking at he friend and second in command.

"You heard me, Aurora Sinistra. She's from an old neutral pureblood family, last of the line in fact. She's smart, knows the pureblood laws, she was apprenticing with Andy Tonks during the war and she has a masters in law. She was engaged to Sirius Black until he went all Sirius Black. After that she dropped out of the apprenticeship and became an alcoholic. Teaching astronomy is the only steady job she can hold down. She looks good, she sounds good and she looks like she could run the country, if you can get her sober. On top of that she's not fond of the old man. But he'll have to endorse her or it will look bad. Here's one of his own teachers quitting her job to run for minister. He can't say anything. If he tries to call into question the fact that she used to be engaged to Black then we make her the victim. If he calls her a lush then we fire back and say it's a lie, if she's such a drunk then why would he let her teach at his school." Emmeline said with a smile.

"Do you think we can clean her up and get her to take the job?" Amelia asked.

"We can tell her we're going after the death eaters. She's got a real sore spot for the DE's as you can imagine. If we tell her what's going on then I think we can get her to go for it." Emmeline said.

"Set up a meeting with her. We'll tell her everything and see if we can pull the case file on Black, maybe we can get him kissed or veiled. It will make a good first case for her." Amelia said sitting back in her chair with a smirk. "Fuck you old man." She said before she laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

The first two weeks of August were very eventful for everyone. Some of the thing that happened were good and some were bad but eventful none the less. It started off with a big birthday celebration on the 31st of July for Harry and Neville. The two boys met a few weeks before and since than they were fast friends. They were the only two boys in a group of girls after all. The party was held in the backyard of the Granger's house which at this point became the unofficial hangout spot for the group, and there were a lot of people from the magical world there. In many ways it was a coming out party for Harry and it was treated as such. A lot of the adult that showed up at the party were there to cement old alinecnes. The Potter's were a very old and powerful family and even though Harry was the last Potter left he was the Head of his house and many old pureblood houses wanted to make sure they were still friends of the house of Potter. But it was also the last day before Harry's owl from Hogwarts came.

His letter showed up the next day and Harry spent a good part of the morning looking at the letter. He was of two minds about going to the school. On the one hand he knew the old man was going to try everything he could think of to influence Him and try to brainwash him. That side of his mind was telling him not to attend the school. The other side was telling him he wanted to try being a wizard out. He wanted to see if he could fit in with children his own age and try to have a normal school year with his friends. In the end he knew he was going to attend because Hermione wanted to attend. She wanted access to the books in the library. His reply letter to the old man was sent through Minerva. The letter was short, to the point had the bare minimum. It just said he accepted his spot in the school.

The grangers spent the the beginning of August savoring every second they could get with the kids knowing they were headed off to the school in just four short weeks. Hermione rolled her eyes whenever her mom held her a few seconds longer than necessary but Harry took it all in and held the memories in a special place in his mind. Dan for his part tried very hard to impart wisdom to the kids. Little facts and things he thought would be helpful. He read a bunch of book about wizard culture and the school and he kept coming to the kids with little fun facts. Of course the kids had already read those books, but they didn't have the heart to tell him he was telling them things they already knew, not that he would know.

The kids had their own secrets after all, like the fact that they figured out what the time turner was and they were using it to get two days out of every day since the start of the summer. They would get up really early in the morning, take the two dogs and walk into the woods behind the house where they set up a magic shed. Although the shed was a relatively new thing, before the shed they just spent time in a grove in the back of the property surrounded by big trees. They would go out there and spend the day reading books, sparing, practicing spells, and playing with their dogs. When they got hungry Harry would make them meals high in protein and lean fats, and they would eat at the conjured table he set up for them. They would take a two hour nap in the big safari tent Harry made at the end of the day.

At the end of the sixteen hour day when the sun would start to go down they would turn the time turner back sixteen hours and head back to the house. They would always wear their gray unspeakables robes and keep the hoods up to stay invisible until they walked into the back door their earlier selves left open. The dogs even had cloaks thanks Harry, but they would still get very confused by this whole thing in the beginning. After all they could smell themselves in the woods as the two sets of kids and dogs passed each other headed to the grove. Harry had words with the dogs and after that they understood everything and they never barked at themselves in the woods.

Now they had a small shed just passed the tree line off the path. It was something of Harry's design and like the lightsabers, and his dirt bike and everything else he made that was magical. It just worked. What was a small ten foot squared green shed on the outside was a huge three room house on the inside. It had a small kitchen with a table and chairs, a good sized study with a big desk, two comfortable desk chairs and a comfortable leather couch. And a big training room with a soft floor for fighting, a running track, and a weight bench. It even had a potion's lab off to the side. Every room in the shed had a nice comfortable feel to it with a lot of soft colors and well worn furniture.

The shed came from the things Harry learned when he was making their school trunks, he saw how Axton's trunk worked. It was two-ish times bigger on the inside than the outside so he made a copy of the trunk for Hermione. It was newer and nicer and it was made of shiny black leather with her horse embossed on the top of the trunk. When he opened it the inside was even bigger than Axton's, he measured it out with a ruler and figured it was about four times bigger on the inside than the outside. This gave him an idea. He thought about it and concentrated on everything he wanted and with a wave of his hand and a flash of light Harry had a black trunk that looked almost exactly like Hermione's trunk, but there were two crossed lightsabers on the top. When he opened it there was a big fifty foot squared room inside the trunk and on a tray attached to the trunk lid was a standard trunk he could put his things in. Now they had a quiet space to work in and live in when they were in Hogwarts. They could also keep up their double study time. As it was they were burning through every book Amelia and Minerva gave them so far that were working on advanced theories of magic and potions as well as runes and arithmancy.

The next day Harry and Hermione filled the trunk with furniture, like a couch, and arm chair next to a pot belly stove that would make the place feel nice and warm. A desk with a office chair next to a fake window that would project an image of the Granger's house. A sparing mat off to the side in the corner. They even had a kitchen table with chairs. It was after this process of picking out furniture that Harry drew up plans for the shed.

By the end of July they had a set routine and they followed it like a swiss train schedule. The results were interesting. They had one day of intense training and heavy study. These days added up to them knowing everything that was important about wizarding culture, how the government worked, Harry's rights as a head of house. The laws regarding an emancipated adult. The school and it's history. Not to mention advanced Magical study. They also spent time getting faster with their lightsabers. By now they could spar for an hour without stopping. Harry could win every time if he wanted to but he was more interested in bringing her up to his level and making her better, and she was getting there. They were very closely matched by the end of the summer. They also grew closer as friends. If they were close before they were one mind now. They didn't need things like words, they just knew what the other was feeling and they would give it to them. If they were uncomfortable the other one would give them a pillow, if one was hot the other would turn up the air conditioning. Even the dogs started adapting to them, the big dogs for the most part stayed close by their masters and they to stayed mostly silent. If they wanted belly scratches they would sit close to their master's hand and roll over. Soon they would be getting belly scratches. The same with food, playtime, going outside to do their business. All of it was instinctual.

On their up days however they were totally different. Everyday their ever growing group of friends would show up at the house and they would have fun. By now they had Susan, Hannah, and Neville. They also started getting visits from Dora Tonks who loved Star Wars and jumped at the chance to learn how to use a lightsaber. It also helped that the wards on the Granger's property went a few hundred feet up to cover the whole property meaning they could set up some rings and play three on three quidditch. So the kids spent their days sparing and practice wandless magic with their friends, playing with the dogs, and fly on the brooms Harry made.

Soon enough they had to cut back the tree line a bit to build a real quidditch pitch with a cushioning charmed floor and regulation sized rings. Emma took one look at how high the rings were and made Harry lower them by half to just twenty-five foot off the ground, and even after that she questioned the safety of the cushioning charms. Harry flew up to thirty feet, jumped off his broom, fell thirty feet, and landed awkwardly on his left side. Emma screamed the whole time he fell and rushed up to him as he stood up on unsteady feet.

"I'm fine, see the charms worked." Harry said trying to wave her off but his arm wouldn't work. As he tried to lift it a pain shot through him and he groaned as he looked down at his arm hanging limp at his side.

"Harry your arm is broken!" She said looking frantic.

"It's fine, that's why I have a healing potion on me at all times." Harry said pulling the potion out of his pocket. He drank half of it and his arm popped back into it's socket with a sickening crunch making everyone cringe. But he was fine.

"See, totally good as new. Although I must say you were right. We need more cushioning on the ground before we play for real. Good call." He said waving at the ground. He summoned his broom and before anyone could stop him he did it again. This time he popped back up to his feet and he was totally fine. "See, totally fine, now would you like to try flying on a broom?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Broom?" Emma asked not being able to catch up with the conversation. She just saw the boy she considered a son fall to his death twice. She didn't know if she wanted to scream, cry, hug him, or beat him senseless.

"Yeah, would you like to try flying a broom? It's fun and as you can see, it's safe. I can make a broom for you or you can use this one, Dora brought her new Nimbus 2000 and I think I can replicate it." Harry said handing her his new copy of Axton's broom. He put Axton's back in the trunk. Emma was still lost in a loop but soon her brain kicked in and she just smiled and shook her head.

"Who does this work?" She asked taking the broom.

"You sit on it and kick off, it will hover as long as you keep the broom level. If you pull back it goes up, push down and it goes down. To turn just direct the broom left or right and lean into to the turn to make it sharper." Harry said handing her the broom. Soon enough she was flying with the kids and when Dan came home from work an hour later he too got a broom and short lesson. After that they started playing four on four quidditch.

They also let their friends ride their horses and even went back to the farm and bought a third horse. This one was almost as cheap as Geoff, he was a black work horse, with leathery skin and thin hair. He was a bit under fed but he had a good strong back and a happy personality. Harry didn't care about all that, once he heard the horse was named Bob he was happy to pay the five thousand pound price tag. A week of feeding the horse carrots and apples made by Harry and the horse looked bigger, stronger, and more healthy. Soon he was running faster than Hermione's horse Lady, who was a descendant of racehorses and trained to run races. Bob was a favorite among the kids and even with the other horses, he was a happy guy that fit in well with Lady's holtly attitude and Geoff's easy demeanor.

Amelia was not having as good of a time however. Aurora Sinistra didn't want anything to do with Amelia. In fact she didn't want to even meet with Amelia. On top of all of that she was at an impasse with the old man as to who they would have as interim Minister. When Sinistra turned her down Amelia had to come up with a list. She had three names. Andy Tonks, Emma Vance, and Mary Abbott. They met one week after they both threatened each other.

Amelia walked into Wizengamot meeting room B and found the old man already sitting at the conference table. As she walked into the room she could feel the privacy charms wash over her. She took a seat at the table. They both stared each other down for half a second before he spoke.

"Look, I have things to do today. Do you have your list or not?" He asked.

"I have a list." She said nodding.

"Okay than we'll go one at a time and see if we can agree on a name. I'll start with a name you don't want to hear. Arthur Weasley." He said.

"Not in this lifetime. What about Emmeline Vance?" She said.

"So you want your lacky, I don't thinks so. How about Amos Diggory?" He asked.

"A man everyone but you hates. Good call but lets try someone that wont cause an uproar. What about Mary Abbott? She's from on old pureblood family." Amelia said.

"An old pureblood family no one but you likes. What about Elphias Doge?" He asked.

"Your boyfriend? You think i'm stupid? I have Minerva in my camp you old fruitcake. Andy Tonks is the last one on my list if you can't accept her then we're fucked." She said standing up and getting ready to leave, it was plain to see this was a stalling tactic to buy him a week, for what she was not sure of but whatever it was it would not be good for them.

"No I don't think I will put Harry Potter's law witch in charge of the ministry. Why don't we try this again next week?" He asked.

"Right, I don't know what you're playing at but know this if you fuck me I will turn the boy against you and this whole ministry. We won't have to worry about who will be minister. The boy will take the job. At the age of fourteen he can take his OWLs in America. I'll move the boy to the America and you will never see him for the next four years. Than after he is an adult wizard i'll bring him back here to campaign for the job. Do you think anyone would run against him?" She said coldly. The old man laughed.

"Amelia, these little chats are always fun. Here is what's going to happen, nothing. Today's paper is going to run a story about how I put Harry with his muggle aunt and uncle to keep him safe, it's also going to say that to keep him safe and away from the dark lord's followers I didn't check up on the boy for fear of one of them finding out where he lived. It has accounts of how they abused him without my knowing it was going on and it will state that the boy is fine now thanks to your efforts, and the efforts of the DMLE for finding his relatives and putting them in prison." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he took a candy out of his pocket and eat it.

"Really, and what happens when I go to the paper with the truth?" She asked trying very hard not to look shocked and panicked. Of which she very much was.

"Well, you can, but the truth will only bring up questions that no one wants to answer. Questions like why are Harry's aunt and uncle not in jail? If Harry's mail was tampered with then how did he get his inheritance and his Hogwarts letter? If I did anything to these muggles than where is the proof? And if you do present the proof then Harry is also going to have to answer for the spells he cast on his relatives. An emancipated wizard has to follow the code of conduct after all and what he did is just as illegal as anything you can prove I did. Than there's the question of if you're willing to burn your new reputation in the press one day after you get it? You are, after all the savior of the boy-who-lived. You saved him from his barbaric aunt and uncle. The people I foolishly trusted to look after the boy. It is truly sad that one can not trust family nowadays." He said in a sad tone as he popped another candy.

Amelia stood there looking both shocked and gutted. Her whole life she was told to not break the rules, to protect the innocent. To trust authority. As she stood there she thought about two things. One was that she knew that she was in the presence of true evil. A dark lord on par if not worse than Voldemort. And two, she wanted, with everything in her being to kill this old fuck. She wanted it so bad she was honestly weighing the options in her head to see if it was worth her death to kill this man.

"Murder is a dirty business Amelia, one I rarely if ever take part in. I've found over the years that you don't have to murder someone to put them in their place. One only has to find the right button to push for them to remember their place and accept it for themselves. I've held this country in my hands for longer than you've been alive. Never threaten someone with more power than you my dear girl, it will only lead to your own downfall. Now be gone." He said waving her out of the room for the second time.

Amelia walked out of the room and made it back to her office before her grip on her rage and magic failed her. She turned her office into a mess as her power flared and threw things. Emmaline walked into her wrecked office with a newspaper in her hand. She took one look around the room before a sad smile played across her eyes. She pulled out her wand and with a few waves and muttered spells the office was back to normal. She took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Amelia's desk and waited for Amelia to calm down enough to sit down and have a normal conversation with her. It took a minute of deep calming breaths before Amelia finally sat in her chair. She turned to her friend and political tactician.

"THAT FUCKING OLD QUEEN!..." She yelled loud enough to make Emma finch. She took a few more deep breaths before she tried to talk again. "I'm going to fucking kill that old fuck!" She yelled in a more sedated tone before sighing and dropping her head to her desk.

"Are you calm enough to talk now?" Emma asked.

"Yes, I think I am. I need a fucking drink." Amelia said pulling the mostly empty bottle from her desk. She took one look at the bottle and sighed again. "That old prick has turned me into an alcoholic." She said as she unscrewed the cap, tossed it absentmindedly behind her, and took a drink straight from the bottle.

"I can see that boss. I can also say with some certainty that he bent you over in the press. There is no way you can spin this to get him back without looking like a fool. Even the truth will just look like lies now. He got out in front of the story and the sheep only like to hear a story like this once. He also has you over the barrel for the murder of Ogden's boy back in the day. Now with the way the Wizengamot is today you would get life in Azkaban for that 'crime'" She said adding air quotes around the word crime with a sad shake of her head. "But, if you're restructuring of the wizengamot goes through then that memory is worth shit. We just need a viable candidate for the job. I still think it's possible to get Aurora Sinistra. She's a good candidate that's bullet proof. We just need the right incentive to get her to turn on the old man, and I think I found it." Emma said with a smirk.

"Well don't fuck around with foreplay." Amelia said finishing the last of the bottle in one big swig.

"I don't think Sirius Black is guilty." She said.

"Are you fucking nuts!?" Amelia asked.

"No, and hear me out before you tell me to fuck off. He was never a Death Eater, or even dark. He was a proud member of the Order, and helped us on more than a few raids. He was also the Potter's best friend. He was an obvious choice for the secret keeper right?" Emma said pulling a file out of her bag and setting it on her bosses desk.

"My question to you is, was he so obvious that they tried to go for a decoy?" Emma said opening the file to show her pictures of a crime scene. It was a blown up street with a dozen dead bodies laying about and a close up shot of a severed finger.

"These are two shots taken of the crime scene where Peter Pettegrew met his end at the hands of Black's bombarda curse right? Look at the ground where his finger is, notice something missing? Take a good hard look." Emma said.

"What am I looking for?" Amelia asked pulling the file closer. She looked at the wide shot with all the dead bodies and then looked at the close up. She knew she was seeing something but she wasn't sure what. "Something's off." She said.

"Well yes there is something off. Where's the blood? Where's the rest of the body? Even if Black turned Pettegrew into little tiny bits of gore where the fuck is it? Even if it landed on the ground and got charred by the fire where the fuck is the burnt bits? And a finger? Just a finger? A left hand ring finger? If I gave you the option of life in Azkaban or cutting off your left ring would you take that deal? Of course you would you'd even do it with a butter knife if it meant getting out of Azkaban right?" Emma said smiling.

"So if Black didn't rat on the Potter's to the dark Lord, and he didn't kill his other friend, then why the fuck is he in Azkaban?" Amelia asked looking confused.

"Well, you're right. It's a good question. One that should have come out in an interrogation, or even his trial right? Three drops of truth potion would have cleared all this up and a prominent pureblood head of house wouldn't have been sent to prison for the rest of his life. Think about that headline. Pureblood scion sent to Azkaban by courtroom oversight. Remind me again, who's the head of the wizengamot?" Emma asked with a smile.

"You're telling me that the old man sent Sirius Black, a member of his own group to Azkaban without a trial? Tell me you're fucking joking. It's not my birthday yet. I can't have this good fortune just fall into my lap can I?" Amelia said looking hopeful and yet shocked.

"It's no joke. But in order to do this right we need to orchestrate this all in one go. We can't just move on this today, we need to set the old man up for a fall before we do this. We need the press there at the trial before we can even bring this up, we need to oust the minister so Aurora can call this case to the floor, we need to get rid of the Pureblood assholes in the dark voting block so we can set the old man up without blowback, and we need the old man flat footed. We have to play both sides of this until the right moment when we strike. We need Harry to set it all in motion. We need to talk to him and Minerva, and the rest of the group. We need his backing." Emma said.

"Yes, I'll set it up for later today. We all need to play ball with the old man for the next few days until we strike." Amelia said sitting back in her seat with a very evil grin on her face.

The next morning Aurora was coming back to the castle from the Hog's Head pub. She had fallen asleep at the bar again and Aberforth let her sleep at the pub. She got all the way to the main road to the castle gates when Minerva flagged her down headed back to the town.

"Good I found you, you have to come quickly there's been an emergency!" Minerva said rushing up to her and grabbing her arm.

"WHat happened!?" SHe asked still a bit groggy.

It was too late, she felt the portkey activate and seconds later she found herself in a big yard behind a nice sized house. She was about to start yelling when she was pinned by two glowing green eyes. The boy that stood before her looked directly into her soul and found her wanting. The boy extended his hand to her and pulled her up to her feet like she was light as a feather.

"Walk with me." He said in a soft tone, but she followed him as they headed down a path headed to a stable.

"You're Harry Potter." She said eloquently.

"I am, and you are the ex-feouncy of my godfather Sirius Black." Harry said and he could see her eyes flash with hatred.

"Why are you asking?" She asked coldly.

"Because I wanted to see if you really hate the man. I know I do, I was supposed to grow up with him, and I'm guessing you. There was a chance you would have been my surrogate mother. That sure as hell would have been nicer than the hell I grew up in. But instead of taking care me like a grown up he went after that trator Pettigrew and got himself arrested. You really did almost marry a foolish immature man you know? What kind of man goes after a traitor instead of taking care of his godson?" Harry said looking disappointed as they approached the stables.

"Yeah… wait, what?" SHe said looking confused.

"Here, this will make this conversation easier." Harry said waving at her.

Instantly she felt different. She felt clear headed, sober, and fresh. It was an odd feeling for her. One she had been avoiding for a while now. As her brain cleared up, the words Harry spoke to her started to sink in. He went after the traitor and left me, he had responsibilities. Than the other thought hit home. She was almost the mother of the boy who lived. She looked to Harry with confusion on her face.

"Don't worry about it right now, I think we need to start from the beginning. It's going to be a good long conversation and I think it would be better if we did it on horseback. This is Bob. Bob this is Aurora, you're going to take her around the path at a nice slow pace." Harry said as he put a saddle on the black horse.

He than helped her get on the horse. As soon as her ass hit the saddle her years of horseback riding lessons kicked in and she straightened her back and sat up. She grabbed the reins and held them in the web of her thumb. When she looked back at Harry he was mounting a funny looking half clydesdale. When he was up he lead them down a path into the woods at a nice easy pace.

"Now to start from the beginning we have to start with why you're here this morning…" Harry talked for the next hour as they made a slow loop of the property. By the time they made it to the stables Aurora was crying silent tears and looking madder than a cat in a bathtub. Harry hopped off his horse and took the saddle off before putting Geoff back in the stable. Next he helped her off Bob and put him away he said a few words to each horse before taking her shaking hand and walking her to the house. When they walked into the back door everyone was there waiting for them. Andy took one look at her face and rushed up to her and hugged her.

"He's been in Azkaban for nine years." Aurora said softly.

"I know, we just found out yesterday." Andy said.

"Nine years." Aurora said sobbing.

"We will get him out but to do that we have to be a unified front, no cracks." Amelia said.

"I'll do whatever it takes." Aurora said.

"Well, first thing we need you to do is quit your job at Hogwarts." Harry said smiling.

"Done." She said matching his smile. In the one hour they shared together she took a very strong liking to the boy that was supposed to be her son, and like Emma Granger before her, and Amelia to a lesser extent she attached herself to the boy and became very protective of him.

The next day she tendered her resignation to the headmaster. Albus was very confused for a few seconds until he smirked, and let her out of his office. The day after that he got a call from Amelia and he knew what it was about before he even started talking. He was painted into a corner and he had to admit he admired the play they made. Aurora was a drunken puppet for Amelia and her group but he couldn't very well say that without taking heat for it. He, after all, let her teach children in his school. He agreed to the new minister and they set a date for next monday to pull the rug out from under Fudge.

Monday morning came and Albus met Amelia and Aurora in the hallway outside of the Wizengamot chambers. He smiled at the two of them. Aurora actually looked sober which was shocking to him but in a good way, he never liked watching her drink herself into a young grave but it wasn't his place to judge her or tell her what to do.

"You two look ready to go." He commented.

"Yes, well once we oust Fudge we can start making some changes." Aurora said.

"That was funny. Your words coming out of her mouth." He said with a smirk. Aurora looked like she wanted to kill the old man but Amelia just smiled.

"Just prove to me that you can at least keep your word on this subject." Amelia said.

"I'll keep my end of the bargain. It's time for a change anyway." He said the room filled up with Wizengamot members and reporters.

What started as a normal monday morning session turned into something of a madhouse in a matter of minutes. The session was called open. Dumbledore called out for any business to be brought to the floor. Amelia stood up with a huge file. She brought the case against Minister Fudge to the floor. Fudge tried to denounce the fact that she could even do such a thing. Dumbledore slapped him down with a string of procedural legal babble and within an hour the minister was headed for Azkaban. His Undersecretary, Malfoy, Crabtree, Nott, Ogden, Greengrass, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were taken into custody in the ministry holding cells. Each of them were charged with numerous counts of bribery and everything from underhanded banking transactions and tax dodging to murder. All of this information came out when Fudge was given truth potion and questioned. After all you can't confess to taking a bribe from someone without stating who it was from and what they were buying. They would each be given a trial in the coming weeks. Until then they were going to be guests of the ministry. It was both funny and sad that the two weeks Malfoy would be in a cell waiting for his trial were the longest he was ever in a cell and he was charged with numerous counts of murder.

They took a break for lunch and of the remaining forty members of the Wizengamot three fourths hand grins on their faces. In one hour they had cleaned up most, if not all of the bad seeds in the group. Even if the only charges they could get to stick were the bribery charges than Malfoy, Nott, Ogden, Greengrass, and Parkinson would be spending at least two years in Azkaban. Two years was a long time for such soft men. Half of them wouldn't make it. Than there was the asset forfeitures, seizures, back taxes, fines and fees. The ministry would be flush with cash and most of it was going right to her department. New aurors, upgraded equipment, overtime pay for her top guys so they could stay on the hunt for more dirt. She would bring it all down. The old man approached her with a smile on his face.

"Nice work in there, you got rid of ten votes. Very well played. I must say for what you lack in political skills you make up in courtroom speak. That bit about listing the crimes he took bribes for was very well worded. This is why I didn't want to destroy you Amelia, you're good at your job and aside from one mistake a long time ago you have lead a clean life. Maybe in a few years when this has all blown over we can work something out and you can take the minister's job." He said with a big smile as he popped a candy in his mouth.

"Yes perhaps, but for now we have a minister to elect. You're not going to fight this are you? We still have a deal right? Because after I get her elected we need to take care of some business today. It's important to burn these arsehole today to keep this momentum going. If the dark lord is still out there I plan on clearing the board fully in the next few weeks. Maybe we can keep him from coming back until Harry's much older and more powerful. Until he's had time to train." She said tossing in his buzzword with a smile.

"Yes, I think that will workout very nicely." He said with a shine to his eyes.

After the break was over Dumbledore nominated Aurora Siniestra. Amelia seconded the motion and it was put to a vote, between the voting block she had and the block he controlled the motion passed 39-0 because Siniestra abstained from the vote. Aurora took her place in the minister's box next to Amelia and the old man.

"I just wanted to say that I took this job for two reasons, one reason was because it's a job that needed to be done and done right. We all saw what close to ten years of an incompetent man in this seat can do tho the country and it's my hope to try and fix most of the wrongs committed by Fudge and his cronies. The other reason I took this job is, I must admit a selfish one. Almost ten years ago the man I loved was thrown in Azkaban for committing some very terrible crimes. I am of course talking about Sirius Black. The thing is, Sirius Black was never given a trial." She said causing a hushed whisper to pass over the crowd.

"He was arrested and tossed directly into a cell without so much as a questioning under truth potion! He's been rotting away in a cell for ten years! Ten Year!" She shouted causing a hush to fall over the room.

"A pureblood Head of House!" She said making half the Wizengamot flinch. It never really dawned on them that Sirius was the head of the Black family and the thought that he wasn't given a trial really freaked them out now.

"SO now that I have the power to call for it, I demand a trial for the Head of house Black. Sirius Orion Black!" SHe said in a deep and commanding tone.

The doors to the courtroom opened up and Sirius was lead in buy two Aurors in chains. Although lead in was kind of a miss nomer, carried weekend at Bernie's style would be more apt. The sight of his withered and dirty body being shackled to the prisoner chair brought home the severity of the Wizengamot's oversight ten years ago. Heads would roll for this if it turned out he was innocent, which Amelia and Aurora already knew thanks to a dose of truth potion and a visit to the prison two days ago. In fact Sirius wasn't as dead as he looked. For the last two days he had been sitting in a cell under the ministry under a glamor and taking a potion Harry made special for him. It healed every part of him and slowly over time it would fix the damage his ten years in hell did to him. Harry should know, he had been taking the potion for the last six weeks. So far he put on three inches of height, and thirty pounds of muscle. Amelia administered three drops of veritaserum, and took her plack next to Sirius.

"State your name for the record." She said in a clear tone of voice so the recording quil could take down a clear record of this trial.

"Sirius Orion Black." He said in a voice cracking with disuse.

"Are you a Death Eater?" She asked.

"No." He stated clearly.

"Have you ever been a supporter of the dark?" She asked. She had to cover all of the bases just in case this was contested later.

"No." He said.

"Did you betray the Potters on Halloween night 1981?" She asked.

"No." he said causing a huge gasp to shoot through the crowd and the old man to close his eyes and hold his face. He knew where the blame for this was going to land.

"DId you kill Peter Pettigrew?" She asked.

"No." He said. Putting the final nail in the coffin of the old man.

"What happened to Pettigrew?" She asked.

"He cut off his finger, blew up the gas main, and turned into a rat." he said causing confusion.

"A rat?" She asked.

"He is an unregistered animagus. A common, fat, brown, rat." Sirius said putting emphasis on his words as he spoke as the hate of ten long years came rolling out of him.

"I think, in light of the evidence as it stands, and pending an investigation into the whereabouts of Peter Pettigrew, we should drop all charges against the last scion of the house of Black, and reinstate him to his Seat as Head of house." Amelia said as she administered the antidote to the truth potion.

"I agree and I would also like to be the first person to apologise for this grave miscarriage of justice." Dumbledore said in a wise grandfatherly tone.

"FUck you old man!" Sirius yelled standing up as the Aurors took of the shackles. "I was a member of your Order! We fought and died for you and what did we get for it? Ten years in Azkaban! So fuck you and your words old man! You put me in that cell to keep me from taking care of Harry. You wanted the boy to grow up a muggle! I read the paper! You put me in jail without a trial so you could get your fucking hands on my godson your sick old fuck! You manipulative old Queen!" He shouted causing everyone in the room to look shocked. Every reporter in the room was writing furiously.

Albus stood there looking shocked. It was blindingly obvious what happened to him now, but than again hindsight was 20/20. Amelia set him up to take a fall in front of the press and the whole Wizengamot. What was worse was the fact that with the way the Wizengamot was set up now he couldn't use his dirt on her, and it was the only dirt he had. Worse yet he couldn't take down anyone in their camp. Aurora was a drunk but he couldn't use that fact. Andy was an upstanding Law Wizard with impeachable honesty. Harry was an abused kid and the boy who lived. Sirius was a wrongfully imprisoned head of a pureblood house. He was, to use one of Amelia's favoret words, Fucked. And there was nothing he could do about it. He would have to bend over and take it.

"Sirius, there are no words…" He tried to save face but he was cut off by Aurora.

"Save it old man. We will be looking into these allegations. If I find out that the man I loved was sent to jail so you could put The Boy Who Lived in a muggle hell I will personally see that you are stripped of your titles and end up in the same cell he spent his last ten years." Aurora said in a cold tone that sent an icy chill through the chamber.

"I see this is not the time to plead my case. Instead I will call this session of the Wizengamot closed." He said banging the gavel and beating a hasty retreat as reporters shouted questions at him. He was off balance and weak which made him ripe pickings for the vultures that called themselves reporters.

"Come on, let's get you home." Aurora said leading Sirius out of the room with Amelia and and her group of supporters following close behind to keep the press and people back away from Sirius and the new minister.

They took a portkey from Amelia's office to the Granger's house. They landed in the back yard and Found Harry sparing with Hermione, Susan fighting Hannah, and Neville battling Dora. The adults were off to the side sitting at a table drinking lemonade and watching the show. Sirius stood there shocked. Aurora smiled at him and took his hand. She lead him over to the table and sat him down next to Andy. she took a seat next to him and took a glass from the table.

"Are those lightsabers?" He asked.

"They are. This is Emma Granger. This is her house. We're going to be staying here until you can get your house cleared out. This is Harry's home away from home." Aurora said.

"In that case it nice to make your acquaintance. I'm terribly sorry for my appearance but I just got out of prison." He said with a charming smile.

"I get it. Speaking of, you'll be in the master suit at the top of the stairs. Harry made a few sets of comfortable clothes for you that should fit, and the room has an ensuite bathroom." She said.

"The master suite? I hope we're not putting you out?" He asked looking shocked by the kindness.

"Oh, you're not. Harry turned the closet on the second floor into a huge bedroom and bathroom with an attached sitting room. We moved out a week ago. Aurora has been staying in the old master bedroom. We were talking about where she would stay now that she quit her job. We offered her a guest room but Harry said he had an idea. He walked away from the table and a few minutes later we saw a huge flash from upstairs and found Harry leaning against the wall by the linen closet at the end of the hall. He got up on unsteady feet and opened the door to show off the room to us. The room is ridiculous. It adds a thousand square feet to the house. The bed is the softest most comfortable thing I've ever laid on it has his and hers walk in closets/dressing rooms and the bathroom has a huge bath tub and a big walk in shower. All of the plumbing works and we have no idea how. As far as Dan can tell it's not hooked up to anything. All I know is the water comes out steaming hot and the tube is big enough for two." Emma said with a smile.

"Harry made it?" He asked looking at the boy leading his friends through combat drills.

"Yes, Harry is a Maker. He's been magicking up things for years. Half the things in the house and most of our meals come from him. I'm going to miss his 'cooking' when they leave for that school. He makes very tasty meals that are somehow making us healthier. We haven't had a cold in this house in months and both Dan and I feel ten years younger." Emma said looking like a proud parent.

Sirius took this all in and he was extremely proud of his young pup, but the look in her eyes as she talked about Harry gutted him deep. He should have had that look in his eyes. He should have raised Harry. He was supposed to be the proud parent. He was a fool. He let his anger and pain lead him into a trap that cost him more than he ever thought. Yes he lost ten years of freedom, but he also lost ten years of life. He looked at Aurora and saw the gaunt look in her eyes, the sickly color of her skin, and the slight tremors in her hands. He was in hell for ten years but so was she. He heard about the drinking and he also heard about the treatments she was taking. Harry was supplying her with the same potion he was taking. That was something else he would have to thank him for. Not only did his godson help to get him out of jail, but he got the woman he loved out of a dark place and he was healing them on top of that. Looking at his godson leading a weapon mastery class hit home for him that this was a boy that didn't need him. He had become a man in his absence. As these thought flashed through his mind a tear rolled down his cheek. Aurora saw it and she smiled a sad smile at him.

"Come on, I'll show you to our room so you can get changed. You need a good hot shower." She said helping him out of his seat.

"But I wanted to meet Harry." He said looking at his godson who still hadden't even looked his way yet.

"You will but first you need a bath. Come on." She said dragging him into the house.

"But…"

"Listen, you stink. It's that simple. Now come on. It's been close to ten years. Let's get you out of those clothes and make sure everything is still working." She said with a smile.

"As fun as that sounds I think I need to start acting like adult. I ran after that rat and I ruined so many lives. Yours, his, mine…" He started saying as he pulled back from her but he stopped when a calm and strong voice came from the back door.

"And pushing away the woman you love to spend a few minutes with me in not the mature thing to do." Harry said walking into the house and up to Sirius.

"Harry i'm so…" He tried but Harry put his hand up to stop him.

"I don't need to hear it and you don't need to say it. You made one wrong move ten years ago, and you've been paying for it for all this time. Now stop acting like a fool and go be with the woman you were supposed to marry. Also shower, shave, and cut your hair. You look like a homeless caveman and you smell like one too. The clothing in the closet should fit you big. Aurora can fix it for you. When you come down we'll have dinner in the back yard and than we'll go for a ride around the grounds." Harry said with an easy smile.

"I can do that." Sirius said accepting his task.

"Good, Aurora, dinner will be served in three hours. Make sure he's decent by than. We're having filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, and carrots. Now if you'll excuse me I have a class I have to get back to." Harry said with a smirk as he ran through the back door and attacked Hermione with a two handed overhead strike.

"He's 11 right?" Sirius asked looking shocked.

"He's been studying eastern religions and deep meditation for three years. He is the calmest most centered and focused man I've ever met. He's also kind of a stick in the mud. He needs to learn how to get along with kids his own age. He's getting better at it but he's still learning. The same can be said for his girlfriend. Old souls." She said leading him up the stairs and into a room at the end of the hall. Once inside the room she lead him into the ensuite bathroom and started to take off her robes.

"He's had a hard life, Amelia told me abo…" He stopped talking when she dropped her robe leaving her in her very revealing underwear.

"What?" She asked with a smile. "The man I loved with my whole being was thrown in prison and I became an alcoholic. I'm not going to say I've spent the last ten years celibate but I can tell you this much. I sure as hell didn't enjoy myself. Too much hate. Now my man is back and I plan on having some good old fashioned make up sex. Than you're going to marry me, and we're going to have a few kids while I still can. We lost ten years, now let's start taking those years back." she said walking up to him with a predatory look in her eyes.

They just made it down to dinner in time. The rest of the adults and kids were already sitting at the long outdoor table waiting for them. Sirius had a goofy smile on his face and Aurora looked truly happy for the first time since they met her. Sirius looked less like a hungry caveman and more like a hungry weekend accountant. His hair was trimmed to a reasonable length. His beard was trimmed and shaped into a clean looking full beard. He was wearing khakis, a white polo shirt and a pair of brown loafers. They took their seats at the table as the adults shared knowing looks. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes as Dora stifled a giggle.

"Are we all set?" Harry asked standing up and looking at the group.

"Yes I think we are." Emma said standing up to get the wine from inside the house.

"Good, let's eat." Harry said waving his hands at the empty big serving platter and four serving bowls. Soon the table was full of food. It was hot, and it tasted amazing. Emma came out the back door with three bottles of wine and sat them on the table.

"This is perfect." Sirius said enjoying the juicy medium rare piece of steak in his mouth.

"This is how we eat everyday. No one beats Harry's magical cooking." Emma said reaching out and hugging Harry to her side and making him blush.

"I just use my cooking experience for the taste and then think of making the best most nutritious meal I can make and this comes out." Harry said shrugging off the attention.

"It's why he doesn't make the wine. He has no taste for it, yet. I plan on doing a full wine tasting course with him when he gets a little bit older. We'll find a wine he likes." Emma said smiling at him.

"Mom you're embarrassing Harry." Hermione said smirking.

"I know dear, but it's my job." She said with a smile.

"Before I forget I wanted to thank you both for letting us stay here until we can get back on our feet. I'm heading to the bank tomorrow to reclaim my title and hopefully I can have my house cleaned out. Than we'll get out of your hair." Sirius said with a grateful smile.

"Think nothing of it. You just got out of jail, stay as long as you need to. In two weeks we're going to have an empty house and I'm sure we'll be begging for company." Dan said smiling.

"I wouldn't worry about that guys, we're working on something that might solve that issue. We'll know more by the time we head off to school." Harry said.

"Oh? What have you two been up to now?" Emma asked looking at her daughter and the boy that became her son.

"We're still working on the math but the arithmancy and runes textbooks Professor Mcgonagall gave us a week ago have really helped fill in the gaps. Hopefully we can all have dinners like this every night. I've grown accustomed to these meals. I like feeding you guys. That's all I'll say for now." Harry said.

"You two aren't doing anything dangerous are you?" Emma asked looking worried.

"Not really, although anytime you play with magic there is a chance for danger, but what we're working on isn't anymore dangerous than anything we've worked on in the past. We just don't want to get people's hopes up and then not deliver. It's like aunt Andy said before, undersell and over deliver." Harry said as Hermione nodded.

"Good boy, always play it that way." Andy said from the other end of the table where she was sitting with her husband and daughter.

"Well as long as it's safe." Emma said smiling.

As dinner progressed and everyone talked the sun went down. When it got too dark Harry waved a at the candles on the table and the tiki torches around the yard and they all light up bathing the yard and table in a warm glow. When they were all stuffed they started packing up and leaving. Harry cleared away the extras into four big bowls and set them out for the dogs. Harry turned around and found Neville standing behind him with a look on his face like he really wanted to ask him something.

"Neville, remember what we talked about? You have to be more confident my friend. You're going to be head of your house in a few years and you're going to have to learn to stand up for yourself." Harry said slinging his arm around the slightly taller boy.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think you can heal my parents? Maybe give them some of that healing potion you made to fix yourself." He asked looking hopeful.

"I hate to say this but I'm not sure it would work. I have a very good understanding of the human body and how it works thanks to my martial arts training. I also have a very good understanding of healing tonics from the book Axton had. So when I make a healing potion like the one I'm taking now I know what goes into it. I know what it's doing to my system. I know how it works. On the other hand I have only a rudimentary understanding of mind magics, and healing tonics made for that sort of thing." Harry said in a calm and even tone of voice. As he spoke he could see Neville's whole body collapse in on himself.

"Oh, right." Neville said looking close to tears.

"Hey! Chin up. Just because I don't know those things now doesn't mean I can't start learning them. And just because I can't fix their minds right now doesn't mean we can't try! It's your parents Neville. Don't you think Hermione and I have been looking into it since we first heard about your parents? It's us you're talking about. We're just hoping to get our hands on the Hogwarts library and do some research before we talked about it with you. Undersell and over deliver. If you give us some time I think we can get it. For now take them out of the hospital and bring them home. We'll put them on a steady diet of my healing tonic and nutrient rich IV bags. We'll heal their bodies as we work on their heads. It's the first thing we're going to tackle when we get to the school." Harry said with a smile which fell off his face as Neville dropped to one knee infront of him.

"Whatever you want, whatever you need the house of Longbottom is forever in your debt. The house of Longbottom pledges their loyalty to you and I will be your faithful servant." He said in a formal tone or as formal as he could muster through his tears.

"Neville, get up before I hit you. This is what I'm talking about. I'm your friend. I'm doing you a favor. You don't just pledge your undying loyalty to me. You say thank you. Now get up." Harry said pulling the boy to his feet. He was promptly hugged until his ribs felt like they were going to give out.

"Thank you Harry! Thank you so much! I know what you said about this being no big deal but it is. I am forever in your debt. You can always count on me." He said.

"That's what the word friendship means. Now go tell your gran, in fact the last time I saw her she looked pale and she had a cough. Give her this and it should clear up and I expect to see her at a few dinners. It's important to keep the group together. The more we can get along now the better we'll be when we have to get along later." Harry said waving a vial of red glowed potion out of the air.

"Thank's, she has been under the weather a bit." Neville said looking like he was going to cry again.

"Then you should have told me earlier. Now go get your folks out of the hospital and I'll have a case of healing tonics for them when you stop by tomorrow." Harry said patting him on the back as he headed to the portkey area.

"Did he ask about his parents?" Hermione asked as she walked over.

"He did, I told him what we talked about. We'll look into it at the school. Tomorrow we have to work on the doors and I have to make the tonics for them. We're also going to have to take a long rest, it's been three days." Harry said patting his dog Blaze on the head as he finished his dinner, and came to stand with him.

"I'll write it down, I also wanted to look into the potion we talked about three days ago. I want to offer it to my mom as well as Aurora. I know she says she's happy with the two of us but I know for a fact they wanted more kids when I was younger." She said pulling out a small black notebook and started taking notes.

"I agree but I don't want to just make it I want to try brewing it first. Things always come out better once I've brewed it. The copies are always more powerful once I understand what the components are." Harry said in a calm aloof tone as he was deep in thought about the work they needed to accomplish before they left on the train.

"If we brew it then that's going to cut into one of our days we only have so many left." She said frowning.

"It has to be done, it takes three months for the potion to really kick in. We'll just have to push our combat training for the next ten days and work straight through. Either that or we do doubles again like we did when we first started." Harry said looking to his partner.

"Doubles are a real killer but your right. We'll just be more drained on our up days. Our friends will suspect." She said.

"I was thinking about telling them. I think Amelia would let us continue our work if we spun it the right way." He said watching the adults break up and Sirius start coming his way.

"Yes if we tell her we're doing it to get out from under the old man's thumb then she'll let it slide." She said nodding.

"We'll discuss it more in detail tomorrow during turn one. We'll use the trunk." Harry said finishing his sentence as his godfather walked up to him.

"Right, I'll set it up." She said walking away.

"Thanks" he said to her retreating back. He turned back to Sirius and he had that same pained and nervous look in his eyes that all adults had when they wanted to talk to him. Again he was going to have to start and lead the apology/getting to know you conversation for yet another adult. It was at times like this Harry was glad he had given up on being a child three years ago. Things like this went easier.

"Hey pup. Wow, this is awkward." Sirius said with a half smile. Harry almost rolled his eyes but held it back. He found it better to act like a child in most situations, but with these situations he tended to act the way he really was. It put the adult at ease.

"Yes, but I've had this conversation with a few other people and I'd be happy to help you. It's a bit dark for a horseback ride, or even a fly but I hear you like bikes. I have enough fuel in the tank to make one for you. We can head into town, there's an old fashioned soda fountain and ice cream shop where we can talk if you would like." Harry said.

"You can just… Maker, right. Sure let's do that." Sirius said.

"I'll go grab my leather jacket, I made one for you in your closet. You should get your's too." Harry said leading them into the house.

A quick word with Emma and they were standing by the side drive in matching black leather motorcycle jackets, jeans, and boots. Harry expanded his black 1969 Royal Enfield 350. With a wave of his hand there was a copy of his bike sitting next to it in dark blue. Harry pulled a black classic motorcycle helmet with goggles and an 8 ball on the side out of his saddle bag. He pulled a second set out this one in white and handed them to him. Harry hopped on his bike and turned the key. He kick started it and it fired right up. He waited for his godfather to follow and soon the two of them were on the road headed to town. Sirius followed his godson at a good pace and was shocked at how well the bike under him drove. For something his godson made out of thin air it was better than any bike he ever rode before. The balance was spot on, the throttle was smooth, and the brakes had just the right amount of bite to stop the bike but not make you feel like you were going to be flung out of your seat. They drove through town and rolled up to an old fashioned soda fountain place. The parked and walked in. It was obvious from the way the man behind the counter greeted Harry that he was a regular.

"Hey Harry! No Hermione tonight?" The older man in an apron and a bowtie asked with a smile.

"Not tonight Lyonel. This is my godfather. I took him for a ride to town and I couldn't pass up the chance to get one of your root beer floats. We'll take two." Harry said slapping a fiver on the counter.

"Coming right up!" The man called out with a smile as he grabbed two glasses out of a cooler.

"This place is the best. Lyonel makes his own Ice cream, and he bottles his own root beer from a secret recipe." Harry said smiling as Lyonel made the two floats.

"Sounds good." Sirius said trying to relax.

It was odd, this was not how he pictured this conversation going. He thought he would face a lot of yelling and crying. Accusations of leaving him alone to chase his revenge. Instead he was handed a large glass with ice cream and root beer and shuffled off to the back booth. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Well Harry ate, sirius sat there contemplating what he would say.

"Not a fan of the float?" Harry asked wiping ice cream off his upper lip with a napkin.

"No, um it's good. I … well…" He tried but faltered. Harry laughed and patted him on the arm.

"Relax. Look, I grew up beaten and starved. Made to work like a slave. I had to grow up fast. When I was seven I figured out my power and I changed my life for the better. For the next two years I dedicated myself to becoming a jedi. Training, learning, meditating, and anything else I could think of to push myself. Then I met Hermione and I found a kindred spirit. She too was mature for her age. An old soul. We trained and worked and learned new skills. Then last year we found a trunk at an estate sale. We found out Jedi's aren't real. That they were made up. We learned about magic and the wizarding world and we didn't like what we read about. We made a promise to ourselves, we were going to continue our ways. Just because Jedi are not real doesn't make the things we learned any less real. We are warrior mages. And as jedi we have a responsibility to help those in need. And right now the old man and the corrupt members of the government have the wizarding world under their boot. We tried to fix this and in the process of fixing it we found out you were innocent. That was just a week ago. I spent eleven years without you and I turned out fine. Now we can either try to force this godfather godson bond, or we can hang out like two guys and get to know each other like friends. Because I don't need someone to take care of me, I can take care of myself. But I can use a friend that can offer up advice I might need. Now what do you say? You want to try to be my friend or do you want to try to act like you need to protect me and treat me like a little kid?" Harry asked.

"I think I'm totally unprepared for this conversation. I think I feel beyond guilty. But most of all I think I'm just shocked. You don't need me anymore and I feel hurt by that." He said.

"Well I didn't say I don't need you, I said I don't need you to treat me like a little kid. You're a fountain of information about my mum and dad. I would love to hear about them. I'm also going to find girls very interesting at some point in the future if what Dan says is true and since the only girl in my life that's on my level is his daughter I think having a man I can talk to about girl issues will be invaluable. What I need is a friend that's older than me but still cool enough to want to hang out and teach me things. You were my father's wing man. I have Neville for that but as you could probably tell by his nervous demeanor and shy personality he's not going to be much help in the 'let's break the rules and have some fun vien'. So how do you feel about all that? Do you want to help corrupt a new generation of kids?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"Now that I can do!" Sirius said looking excited and relaxed at the same time.

"I thought you might be able to help me with that, Minerva has told me a few stories." Harry said going back to his float.

"I'll bet, back then when we were in school the war was raging and inside the school battle lines were drawn. Pranks were the main weapon of combat. Your father was very much like you Harry. Smart, confident, and protective of his friends. He was a natural leader. Something I saw when you were working with your friends today. In a way I was your dad's Hermione. I was his second in command…" Sirius spent the next hour talking about the Marauders. When they were done with their floats Harry walked up to the counter.

"Hey Loynel, can I get two pints and…" Harry started saying but stopped when the old man handed him a bag with two cartons of ice cream and a wood crate with twelve swing top bottles. "You're too good at this Lyonel. Too good." Harry said putting a twenty pound note on the counter and taking the crate. "Grab the bag Sirius." He said leading his godfather out to the bikes. Harry checked to make sure no one was watching before he shrank the bag and the crate and stuck them in his jacket pocket.

"You really are very controlled with your spell work. It's shocking." Sirius said shaking his head.

"I spend a lot of time in deep meditation bonding with my core. I call him Bob. Now let's get back. Emma will be worried and Hermione will be waiting for the ice cream and sodas." Harry said pulling on his helmet and kick starting his bike with a happy smile.

"Lead the way buddy." Sirius said waving him on after he got his bike going.


	6. Chapter 6

The back half of August was frantic as the adults kept up the fight in the ministry and against the old man. Amelia and Aurora made huge sweeping changes to the ministry. They beefed up security to the building and doubled the DMLE's budget. They also started busting other people using the questions under truth potion during the trials of the Death Eaters. Malfoy alone netted them three dozen more arrests. Every crime they confessed to under truth potion was recorded and then Amelia would ask them to name anyone present during the crimes. This would get them many names. By the first of September the Wizengamot was missing five more members and the cells under the ministry as well as Azkaban were full. They had dozens of pureblood heads of houses sitting in cells and they collected fines and taxes off of each of them.

That was an unexpected outcome from these trials. It would seem that most of the dark pureblood houses never paid taxes. They would bribe the minister or someone in the treasury and never pay the sadly low tax percentage they were required to pay. It was a scam that had been going on for decades. Amelia saw the amount of gold they were collecting in back taxes and she contacted Madam Malkin's shop to order dragonhide vests. By Halloween the whole auror force would have vests.

But the pressure wasn't just applied in the ministry. Augusta and Amelia showed up at the school board of governors meeting with Mary Abbott, Andromeda now a Black again, and Sirius. With six of the nine board members in jail Minerva, Augusta, and madam Marchbanks had the the four sworn and they now had a voting block. Even if Albus could get three of his cronies on to the board they would still have a six to three majority. In that first meeting they fried Binns, Trelawny, Babbage, and they were in the process of calling for Snape's head when the old man lost his temper.

"You six can calm that those three were unfit to teach, but I put my foot down when it comes to Severus. He has sacrificed a lot to the light, he worked as a spy for most of the war, and I need him in place to keep an eye on the Slytherins. Aside from that he's a decorated potion's master, and a top notch brewer!" He practically yelled at the group.

"And he's a top notch arsshole on top of that. The man can't teach. He puts instructions on the board and then goes around the room traumatizing students and making a mockery of the already broken house points system!" Minerva said.

"I will personally work with him to improve his teaching skills but we can't fire a Potion's Master on top of the other three. We have four spot open and just two weeks to fill them. We can not fire Severus as well. As it is we might have to start the year off down a Divination teacher. Do you have any idea how hard it was to find someone with the sight?" Albus asked looking haggard a beaten.

Albus was not having a good time. Life was taking every opportunity to dump on him. The press was up his ass, the ICW dropped him, he had to use every bit of power he had left to stay chief warlock of the Wizengamot, and now they were making him fire the teachers he hand picked. Worse yet was they did all of it above board. If he pushed back against them he could be ousted from the school with one good article in the paper. As it was he still had two of his three titles.

"Then lets us help you fill those positions right now. Mary is a halfblood that lives in the muggle world. She would be happy to take the Muggle studies job. It will be nice to have someone that actually know something about muggles in the job for a change, and we talked about this earlier and Grisdale is willing to cover the history class until a permanent replacement can be found. As for divination, why do we have to offer it in the first place? It's a soft option for people looking to get out of taking a real elective. Unless you have the sight then you are wasting your time staring at tea leaves. This will force the kids to take Arithmancy or runes." Minerva said.

"While I can't argue with you on that point I would still like to keep the class open until the student's that are taking the class can pass either their OWLs and NEWTs in the subject. I propose that we keep trelawny on the staff and let her teach the students that are already enrolled in her class, but we stop taking enrolment after this year. That will give us a chance to faze out the subject and see if we can find a suitable replacement for it." Albus said in a haggered tone. The people around the table knew they had broken him for now. They would give him his two teachers but they still managed to get rid of Binns and that froud Babbage.

"Good, we'll go with that for now, and your boy Snape is on probation as far as I'm concerned if we get one report of him pulling any of his old shit with the students this year then he's out. And I'm not just talking about the school. One right question under truth potion and he's spending the rest of his days in a cell." Amelia said.

"I will speak to him." He said.

"Good, I'd hate to have to get rid of him, as you said the man is a potion's master and those don't grow on trees." Amelia said with a smirk.

The last two weeks of august were extremely busy for Harry and Hermione. They started pulling triple duty everyday. The would go back 48 hours and spend the first 24 hours in the trunk working on the list of projects they needed to complete before they headed off to the school. They added sleeping bags to their normal kit as well as dog beds for their two huge dogs. After twenty four hours they would leave the trunk and head to the shed to do their next twenty four hours. They would spend the up day hanging out with friends and resting as much as they could but they still tried to put in a good six or seven hours on their work. Everyday they gave a list of books and subjects to Minerva and everyday she brought them three or four books. The next day they would hand them back to her and ask for more. By the end of the first week she got suspicious and talked to Emma and Amelia. On Friday on their up day Emma, Dan, Amelia, Aurora, and Sirius sat them down and asked them what they were doing. Harry and Hermione traded looks back and forth before they both nodded.

"As you both know Axton Archer was an Unspeakable. A career path we both want to pursue in the future. In the course of looking through Axton's journals we came across names and descriptions for everything that came out of that house. This included the guns that conjure bullets as they are fired, the vests that we wear every day, and the robes with the invisibility charm. We also found a gold hourglass on a gold chain. We found the name and description for that as well. It's called a time turner, and by the shocked gasps most of you know what it is and what it does but for everyone's better understanding we'll explain it. A time turner is a device that can literally turn back time. One hour for every turn of the hourglass. For the last three months we've been using the time turner everyday." Harry said as Amelia let out a shocked gasp.

"How many hours?" Amelia asked.

"At first we were doing 48 hours back everyday. This lead to fatigue and a drop off in returns. After a few weeks we worked out a system that we found most useful. 16 hours. We would get up at 6am. Head into the woods, and into a clearing in the back of the property where we set up a training grounds. Later we would move this training to a shed I built just inside the woods. We would walk into the woods in the morning and spend 16 hours training, studying, meditating, sparring, and playing with our dogs. We would take a nap in the tent I made for the last four hours. At 10pm we would turn back time 16 hours, put on our invisibility robes, and walk into the back door of the house ready for a full day of regular time. This schedule held up for the last two months. That is until last week where we went back to a 48 hour system to cover all of the extra work we wanted to get done before the start of the school year. Projects that are vital to both us, and our group as a whole. Now this is where you adults are going to try to take away the time turner or try to get us to slow down or whatever else idea you all just formed in your heads but let me just say this. We are the most responsible two people, not kids, people you know. The things we did were done for a purpose. We worked our ass off becoming the two most powerful people in our group and the work we are doing is for the betterment of the group as a whole. Do you want to know why we're looking at runes and arithmancy? We're building a trunk doorway system to walk between the castle and this house instantaneously. We have that work done already. We did it last week. We have a working network of doors between the trunks we made and the shed. Do you want to know why we are looking into healing magics? We're developing a potion to kick start the reproductive system in women over thirty and women having trouble conceiving so that Aurora and Emma have a better shot at having children. Next thing we're working on is Neville's parents. Now why can't we continue the vital work we've been doing?" Harry asked in a calm and rational tone of voice that threw everyone off balance.

The adults sat there looking shocked and stunned. They didn't know what they expected when they sat down. They knew from Amelia what the possibilities were. They knew something like this could have been going on. What they weren't prepared for was the rational and simple explanation delivered in in the calm and adult way it was delivered. Then again they should have known they were going to get something like this. With these two there was almost no chance that they were playing with time just to play with time. Then the information they gave them started to sink in. A door system to connect two places with instantaneous transportation? Fertility potions? They were working on fixing Frank and Alice?

"Um." Amelia said eloquently. Her mind wasn't working. She loved Frank and Alice very much and she visited them every few weeks. It broke her everytime she went. The Longbottoms were good Aurors and more importantly they were good people. If there was even a chance…

"Kids, how did you?" Emma asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Mom I have eyes and I saw you two trying and failing five years ago. And we also know Aurora wants kids, but years of drinking can't be fixed with just a few health tonics. Harry is good but he's not that good. The tonics will help but what we're working on will guarantee conception of a health baby. We're days away from having it." Hermione said with a teary smile as she hugged her mother.

"Can you really fix Frank and Alice?" Amelia asked in a soft tone almost as if she was afraid to get her hopes up.

"We know we can, it's a matter of learning everything we can about brain chemistry and mind healing. Once we have a good understanding of it I can make the potions we need to fix the damage done to them. It's going to take weeks of research. But once we have it we'll be able to mass produce a less potent combination we can give to the medical field. Neville's parents aren't the only ones suffering from this. Like with the fertility potion we're hoping to offer it up to everyone. This work started off for us, for Emma, and Aurora, and Neville, but we hope to help many more with our findings. We're not greedy and we don't need money but what we do want is for the pain and suffering that Neville and Emma suffered to never happen to anyone else. This is the start of what we want to do with the rest of our lives. We want to help people. After this we're going to work on Wolf's Bane. We know there's a better option out there for werewolves. Moony is such a nice man. The fact that he has to suffer every month until he dies from the curse is just wrong. If we can't cure him then we'll make a better potion! One that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to make. We want to find alternatives to all the potions. Axton's notes were impeccable. We are going to build on his work to heal the magical world at half the cost." Harry said confidently.

"Pup, thank you." Sirius said trying hard to hold back tears. Dan and Sirius were the only ones not crying at the table and he was slowly losing it when Harry mentioned Moony.

"It went on the list as soon as we met him last week. As it is we have about two dozen potions we can start publishing right now. Most of them are cheap alternatives to expensive healing tonics. Axton's note provided us with a ground work and from those notes and ideas we built on them. We were going to take it to Andy soon to ask her how we can get them out to the public. We don't want anything for them but we want to make sure Axton gets the credit he deserves for the leg work he put in before his death." Harry said.

"I think we can work something out. What I think we would like to see, is your workspace as well as your work." Amelia said.

"That can be arranged but not at the moment. We are technically inside Harry's trunk and the shed at the moment, but what we can do is show you the trunks we're going to hand out to our friends. We have those done and we can show you the doorway. We'll use Susan's trunk." Hermione said pulling a punch off her belt and reaching her whole arm inside to the elbow. She pulled out a shrunken black leather trunk with a skull and crossed bones embossed on the lid with the word dust to dust under it. It was the old Bones family crest and expanded it to the size of a big steamer trunk.

"Actually Hermione I think we should expand all of the trunks so we have places to go." Harry said smiling at the looks on everyone's faces at the small pouch.

"Good thinking we can also hand them out so we can start using the doorway system. It will work as a beta testing." Hermione said pulling out five more trunks and expanding them. Each trunk had a family crest on it corresponding to each of their friends.

"We are also going to install a doorway in the house. This was our thought process. We can keep up this two days turned for every up day schedule if we don't have to do much on one of the days. We were going to use one of the turned days to work in the shed or trunk. Then we were going to spend time here at the house as kind of a rest day. Lastly we were going to spend the up day in the castle attending classes and doing homework. We were going to test this system out for a few weeks and see how well it was working for us. If it worked well we were going to offer to bring our friends with us. They can spend the day with us in self study or practising their saber skills and wandless magic. As it stands they are all up to second year spells wandlessly. We can keep that pace up and we can all sit for our OWLs in third year. Our NEWTs the year after that. We'll be 17 by then. They have to let us take our OWLs when we're 15. It's the law after all. Well we'll be 15 in a few years if we use this system. We'll also have time to get a muggle education on top of our magical study." Harry said as he opened Susan's trunk and showed them the huge fifty foot room inside the trunk, and the small trunk on the shelf for school things.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"Well, if we do two turned days on top of the regular days that mens we're going to experience close to 835 days in a school year if we cut out Sundays to give us time off that's about 1,200 days a year. We'll be thirteen next summer and sixteen the summer after that. On the brightside we'll be here everyday so while it will feel like you guys are missing a lot of time with us we'll also be here all the time. It also means we get three birthdays a year." Hermione said with a smile.

"Three christmases too." Harry said leading the group down the ten foot ladder into the empty trunk. The only thing in the trunk was a door with runes and symbols carved around the frame.

"This is the door, it works like any door but what you do is activate a symbol to call up the door you want to travel to. As you can see this door is locked." She said trying to turn the handle. "But if we touch the Longbottom symbol." She said hitting the Longbottom crest and it glowed. "Now the door opens." She said pulling the door open. They saw another door like joining hotel rooms. She opened that door and walked through into another trunk.

"As you can see the two trunks are identical now, but once I make some furniture for them each trunk will be it's own little one room apartment where our friends can go to relax, read, and hang out. Each trunk will have a pot belly stove that will control the temperature in the trunk, and depending on the furniture they want it can be a simple sitting room or a bedroom. We can take a look at Hermione's new trunk for a good example of what we're talking about and it will also show you how convenient the doorways are." Harry said closing the door.

He hit the jedi symbol with the flowers wrapped around it in a circle. The symbol light up and soon they were standing in a trunk with soft blue walls and light wood floors with blue and white area rugs. There was a cream colored couch, and two matching chairs by a potbelly stove with a tea kettle on the top and a coffee table with a few books and a antique tea set on a tea tray. There were book shelves with books on the walls. A big light blonde wood desk with a big office chair. A light wood table with four chairs was set off to the side. One whole corner was left clear with mats on the floor for sparing. On the walls were family pictures and a painting of her horse Lady.

"The other trunks will look like this. We are using my trunk now as a work space but it's essentially the same as this but in darker colors. It has more of a gentleman's study look to it. We'll probably add beds to each trunk so we can sleep in our own trunks for the second turned day." Harry said.

"This is amazing." Emma said looking around the room.

"How do the doors even work?" Amelia asked looking at the runes on the frame.

"It works on a combination of teleportation ritual and collapsed space arithmancy. But mostly it works because Harry made it." Hermione said.

"Unbelievable." She said shaking her head.

"We plan on setting up a doorway in the house here at the Granger residence. All of us will come through the door here at the Granger's house and we'll portkey out from here. We'll get a whole day in our own homes. On our second day they can portkey back and use the door to get to one trunk and from there get to their own trunks for their second turned day. When the 24 hours is up they exit their trunks and they go about their day like normal." Harry said.

"I can see that, but my question is why do you have to turn back time so much? It seems like you don't need to really spend too much time doing homework with the ink spell. And you'll all be a few years ahead of your class. Why not just go back to the 36 hour days? come through the trunks to this house and spend 16 hours here then go back to your trunk and turn back the hours to the morning and go to class." Emma said.

"We could try but if we did that then we'd most likely go to a 48 day to get a full night's rest in our own beds." Harry said scratching his head as he looked to Hermione.

"It's possible, we could also do a few 72 hour days during the week to catch up on work." She said doing the math in her little black book.

"That will give us what about 700 days a year?" Harry asked.

"Exactly 700 days. Four 48 hour days, two 72 hour days, and a regular 24 hour Sunday during the 42 week school year. That's 630 days. Add a regular summer and we're looking at 700 days. If we do 36 hour day during our 10 weeks off for summer and christmas we're looking at 735 days. Either way we're going to be able to take our OWLs at the end of third year and our NEWTs by the end of fourth year." She said doing the math.

"Man am I glad you're good at that." Harry said looking like he was getting a headache.

"It's something you need to get better at." She said with a smile.

"But I don't have to, I have you for that." Harry said.

"So two years every year?" Emma asked looking pained. On the one hand she would see them every day but on the other it felt like she was losing them. They were at this place where they were totally independent and adult enough to be on their own, but they still liked having her around to hold them and look after them. That would be gone soon and she wanted to savor that feeling as long as she could.

"I'll keep track of dates and we'll do double birthdays and christmas every year." Hermione said reading the pained expression on her mother's face. She walked up to her and hugged her.

"You two really take the fun out of being the adults." Dan said speaking up for the first time in a while, but it had the effect of breaking the tension and getting everyone laughing. That's what Harry loved about the man he spoke seldom but when he did it had a purpose.

"What can I say? We like pushing things along." Harry said leading them out of the trunk and into Hermione's room. When they walked out to the back yard they saw Dora was back with the rest of the group. They handed out the trunks and Harry spent the day making furniture for the trunks.

Two days later Harry and Hermione came from the shed and sat at the table looking exhausted but they had smiles on their faces. Emma jumped out of her seat and looked the two over but Harry waved her off with a smile.

"We're fine, we just didn't get much sleep over the last two days. We've cracked the fertility potion." Harry said waving at the table and making a nice breakfast spread.

"I thought you two weren't going to push yourselves too hard? And you didn't have to do that Harry I could have cooked." She said hugging the two of them.

"I told you I'm fine. I'm not magically weak, I'm just tired, we both are. We hit a breakthrough at about eight last night and we worked through most of the night to finish. But, we have this!" Harry said pulling a leather case out of his belt pouch. He expanded it to the size of a briefcase and opened it to show Emma and Aurora the rows of test tubes full of blue glowing potion. Emma took a look at the potions and almost fell into her seat next to Dan.

"Is that it?" She asked looking hopeful and fearful at the same time.

"Yes. Now pay strict attention to what I'm about to tell you. This is not just one potion, it a regimen of three portions a day. You have to take them at the same time every day. It has to be down to the minute. You can pick any three times but they have to be about six hours apart. If you both start taking this potion today I will personally guarantee conception of a healthy baby by late fall at the most. I made a case for each of you like this. I also made you a carry case that can hold three doses. Set a watch, set three or four of them, but make sure it's the same time, every time." Harry said passing the case to Aurora who took it like the treasure it was. "The cases are indestructible, I made them that way. There are two trays in here. You have a ninety day supply in there. These are the carry cases." Harry said pulling out a second case and two small cigar holders made of a shiny metal. As he passed out the cases he saw Emma's hesitance. She saw him watching her and she smiled sadly.

"We tried drugs before, and we tried not to get our hopes up, but we did, and after two years and enough money to send Hermione to university we still didn't conceive." She said taking one of the blue vials out and looking at it.

"Emma, Mum." Harry said softly as he took her hand. "Have I ever made a promise and not kept it?" He asked softly with a gentle smile. Emma's whole face lit up when he called her mum and she hugged him to her chest.

"No, and I know this will work. I love you very much. Thank you." She said smiling at him.

"If you both wait a few minutes it will be seven. You can take it seven, one, and seven tonight." Dan said again supplying the emotional break they needed.

"So if you guys cracked this then what are you working on next?" Sirius asked.

"Neville's parents, we have a few books on mind healing we have to get through but soon we'll be looking at treatment options. They've been on a steady diet of health tonic and high nutrient IV bags. They are both as healthy as they possibly can be. Which is good because we might have to try out a few treatments on them, but once we get the right set we'll be able to mass produce it at a very cheap price. The potion you guys are holding in your hand cost less than a few silver sickles to make and only an hour to brew a big batch. It also scales well. We brewed all of those doses in a big gold cauldron at the same time." Harry said.

"We also have to run the group through a spell quiz to make sure they're learning the second year magic." Hermione added.

"I also wanted to make a set of gear for our friends as well as stock the trunks with supplies and we need to look into old enchantment spells, we also need to start filling out the home school work books we got two days ago in the mail, they are due on september 3. We have so much to do before we leave. Even though we'll be coming home almost everyday we still need to get our things in order before we set foot in that castle. I want to prep for anything." Harry said looking haggard.

"I think you two need a break, you've been going at it for two weeks straight and you've been burning the candle at both ends. I think you, me, Sirius, and Neville should go golfing today. I think Hermione should hang out with her mother today. I think if you don't you'll end up dead by the time september first comes around." Dan said.

"But all the work…" Harry started but stopped when both Dan and Sirius put their hands on his shoulders.

"You need to take a break pup. You're not just running yourself into the ground. Your friends are tired too and they just have to deal with you on the up days. You can push too hard. You said it yourself that you guys tried doing this before and wore yourselves out. We'll do like Dan said. I've never been golfing before." Sirius said looking excited.

"None of you have, I've been wanting to take Harry for a while now but I saw how much work he was doing and I didn't want to distract him but it's like you were saying, he's going to ruin friendships soon. The Girls were really not liking the drill sergeant attitude yesterday. You both have the tendency to dam everything and go for your goal with both hands. Somethings in life need to be taken slow. Now Harry will make you guys some shoes, clubs, and balls. And we'll hit the road as soon as Neville gets here." Dan said.

When the rest of their friends got there Dan rounded up the guys and headed out in the land rover. Once they were away from the house Dam turned to look at Harry with a conspiratorial look on his face.

"Harry, I wanted to go golfing and we will but there was something else I wanted to do first. I set up our tee time for half past ten so we'll have a lot of time but I wanted to ask you if you can repair cars like you repaired your motorbike?" Dan asked.

"I should be able to, why?" Harry asked.

"Emma's birthday is coming up in a few weeks it's right before Hermione's as you know and I wanted to get her a classic sports car. I found this dealership that deals in rare classics but he wants crazy prices. But he has an old BMW 507 roadster on his lot that he's willing to part with it for a very low price. The catch is the car barely runs and it's rusted through in most places. The car is worth as much as our house if it's in mint condition." Dan said.

"You want to buy the car, and have me repair it for Emma? That shouldn't be a problem. Now copying it?" Harry said shrugging.

"Oh, I wouldn't even ask you to attempt it." Dan said.

"Well, if I took it apart I bet I could make one easy. Just like the bikes. I could make ten of them a day without getting drained. Copying none magical standard metal things is nothing. I think we need to find a simple car and test it out. Something with not too many moving parts." Harry said.

"Something like a classic Mini or a beetle. Maybe a Caterham 7. It barely has two seats and doors." Dan said.

"We'll add it to the list. Maybe we can work on it as a weekend project on our off days." Harry suggested.

"Good thinking son." Dan said nodding, he never saw the smile Harry had on his face.

They pulled into the parking lot of a classic car dealership and Harry's eyes were wide as dinner plates. The rows of shiny chrome and curvy steel made parts of his body he didn't even know he had tingle. He all but ran up to a classic black boss mustang. The rest of the group followed with big grins on their faces.

"Found something you like?" Dan asked with a smile.

"I want, I want all of the shiny." Harry said in a tone of voice that could only be described as lust.

"It funny you've never really showed much interest in cars before Harry." Dan said.

"That's because all the normal cars look the same. These are works of art. Look at the lines. This car has style." Harry said running his hand down the hips of the boss.

"Good way to put it. I'm Nigel by the way, You gentlemen in the market for a classic?" The salesmen asked.

"We are, I'm Dan Granger, we spoke on the phone. I wanted to buy the BMW 507 roadster you have." Dan said.

"Right! Those cars are in the back lot. That's our trade in lot. Sometimes we take a car in trade. We store them back here until we can get them show room ready. Sometimes we trade them to other dealers. Every once in awhile we get someone looking for a project car. I'm guessing that's what you're going to use it for?" The salesman asked.

"Yes, it's going to be our weekend car." Dan said.

The salesman lead them through the showroom Full of italian classic that had all of the men making noises and pointing, and out the back door to a parking lot full of junky rusty cars. They were still classics and they still mostly had the curves and lines that Harry found so beautiful but these cars need some love. There were a dozen cars in the lot and Dan walked right up to a small sports car off to the side. It was more rust colored then silver and it was missing some pieces, and most of it's red leather interior.

"This is it. It runs, and despite how it looks it drives too." Nigel said reaching under the steering wheel and turning a key, the car started up after a few cranks and it ran really rough.

"What do you think Harry?" Dan asked.

"I think we need this car and few more. We'll take them all with us." Harry said looking at a old mini with flared fenders in black with red racing stripes. There was also a few old sports cars, and muscle cars but Harry was looking at a silver boss mustang. "We'll take the lot. I can shrink them." Harry said just loud enough for Dan to hear.

"Won't Nigel see?" Dan asked looking at the salesman.

"I can mind trick him. It's not the most ethical thing to do but, with the amount of cash we're about to spend I think it's fine. What are all these cars?" Harry asked.

"Really nice and expensive. That smashed up black sports car over there is a Ferrari Daytona. And this beefy looking muscle car is a Aston martin v8 vantage. That's a Bond car. Those are a pair of porsche 356 convertibles, it looks like a classic 55 and a 60 wide body racer and that little car in the corner is a jaguar xk120. That one is an E-type. You sure you want them all? Some of these cars aren't worth a lot. Like these three over here. You got an interceptor, escort mk1, and that hunk of rusty junk is an mgb roadster. You sure you want the lot? This is going to be expensive even if they are wrecked and in bad shape. You're not even old enough to drive yet." Dan said laughing.

"I can make gold with a thought. I'm tempted to hand Nigel a few dozen gold bricks and take the whole lot, I can make a garage in the backyard." Harry said.

"Okay, I'll work out a price, I hope he's willing to take a check for all this." Dan said.

"Or I can pay the man in gold Krugerrands. I can make a case of them right now. I've been practicing in case we need fast cash." Harry said with a smirk.

"You can make… Right. Go back to the land rover and get the case." Dan said loud enough for Nigel to hear.

"Right dad." Harry said walking off.

"We would like to buy your whole back lot. We'll be paying in gold Krugerrands. I hope that's not a problem?" Dan asked adding a south African tinge to his voice.

"Krugerrands?! I've never seen those before. You sure you're going to have enough? There worth what? 200 pounds a coin right?"

"210 pound per coin and we brought a briefcase full of them." Dan said shaking his head as Harry walked over and opened the lid of a metal briefcase. Inside were rows of wide gold coins with an antelope on them. Nigel took one look at the case and his eyes lit up.

"Come into my office and we'll get you the paperwork for your cars." Nigel said with a big smile.

A half hour later and they finished counting out 494 gold coins or just a little over 100,000 pounds and the case was still half full. Harry shrank all the cars and waved his hand infront of Nigel's face.

"A truck came and took the cars." Harry intoned.

"A truck came and took all the cars." Nigel said.

"Good, here, take a couple dozen more coins." Harry said shoving about twenty more coins in Nigel's hand as they got into the land rover because he felt guilty for mind tricking him.

"I can't believe you gave that crook more gold for nothing." Dan said shaking his head. "He totally fleeced us on the price. We should have paid less the 80,000 for the whole lot." Dan said as they drove towards the golf course.

"I made the gold coins from thin air. I can make you a room full of these gold coins. I was hoping you would have handed him the case and said thanks, we'll also take the black boss mustang." Harry said.

"It's not the point Harry, it's the principle." Dan said trying not to laugh as Harry made another case.

"Free gold. Form thin air. We paid nothing. Well, that's not entirely true, I took half the tow chain in the boot to make the case and I used the other half to make this one. On the bright side you can buy a new one." Harry said laughing.

"You really make life interesting son." Dan said shaking his head and laughing.

"Harry, can we go vintage motorcycle shopping next week?" Sirius asked trying very hard not to laugh.

"Definitely, I might not have spent much time looking up classic cars but I found a book on old motorcycles. I want an old Harley Davison LWA and a 1937 BMW R7. I think that's why I like classic cars so much, all the chrome." Harry said as they pulled into the parking lot of the country club.

"Alright, we're here and we're almost late, these people hate that, also if they ask you two how old you are tell them you're 13. You have to be that old to play here. This place is very up scale and they look down their nose at anyone that's not old money. I almost never play here but I wanted your first time to be at a nice place." Dan said helping them get their clubs out of the boot.

"Got it." Harry said standing up tall to his full height of four and a half foot tall. Neville didn't have to worry, he was taller than Harry by a few inches.

Dan's words were prophetic. They got shit at the front desk for not being early for their tee time. They also questioned the two boys ages. Harry reached out his hand and dropped five gold krugerrands on the desk making the man shut up and causing the group to burst into uncontrollable laughter. He repeated this same move with the guy managing tee times and by the time it was their turn to play Dan was almost as bad as the kids and Sirius thank's to his laughter. They all played like garbage but they had a blast doing it. No one hit a good drive that day and they all shot close to or in the 100 range on a par 70 course. They were so bad they held up not one but three other groups. Each time a foursome would get close behind them and start to complain Harry would hand them a stack of gold coins making the guys laugh harder. By the time they got home it was after two and they were loud and boisterous. They found the house empty, and a note on the fridge said the girls took the day off to head to a spa. The guys took the time to extent the driveway back into the yard twenty feet and Harry made a huge carriage house style garage with three big doors. Harry wavered in place for a second before almost falling over but Dan and Sirius caught him.

"Harry are you alright?" Dan asked looking worried.

"Yeah, I just overcooked it a bit. I'll be fine in a minute, that's why I have these just in case I do something like this." Harry said pulling a glowing white potion out of his belt pouch and drinking it. Instantly color rushed into his complexion and sweat began to pour of his head. "Wow that tonic has a kick!" Harry said bouncing up to his feet. He started pacing back on forth for a second.

"You okay Pup?" Sirius asked.

"Not really, I made the power tonic too strong. I feel like I just drank fifty cups of coffee." Harry said as his eyes started to glow and a visible white aura surrounded him.

"Harry!" Dan said starting to panic as Harry floated off the ground and lighting shot from his fingertips.

"I have to use this or my core is going to pop like a balloon. Neville get the cars!" Harry yelled as he flew, literally, to the carriage style doors and threw them open with a wave of his hands.

He threw his hands out and the wood walls turned into stone and mortar construction with a shiny concrete slab but it had no effect on Harry. He was still floating and glowing. He waved his hands and the inside of the garage expanded by a hundred feet wide and seventy-five feet deep. Harry dropped a foot but he was still floating and glowing. He grunted in frustration and waved his hands around the room. The walls were filled with neon signs from petrol stations. Large paintings of classic cars they saw in the car lot and a few vintage military pinup girls from Dan's study. There was a pair of old fashioned gas pumps by one of the three doors and a shiny wood bar in the back corner with three glass door coolers and ten bar stools. Harry dropped to the floor but the light around him was still glowing bright and his clothes were soaked in sweat. Harry looked at the peaked roof and wood beams and waved his hands at it. The roof raised ten more feet and a loft made of shiny wood with stairs grew out of the back wall and stuck out fifty feet and ran the full length of the back wall. A railing sprung up out of the floor of the loft and Harry's glow died down a bit but he was still hard to look at. Neville ran into the garage with the box of shrunken cars.

"Harry, I got the cars!" He said.

"Good, I'm running out of ideas!" Harry said in a booming voice.

Harry waved at the box and the cars expanded and lined up next to each other in a neat row. He waved again and they were all factory new and shiny like they just had a wash and wax. Harry's glow faded almost entirely. Harry eyed his glowing hand with narrowed eyes. He ran over to the sporty black and red Mini. He moved it off to the side and waved at it. The car exploded for lack of a better word. Every part was laid out on the garage floor. Harry looked at each part he waved his hands over them and nodded before he waved at the parts and they reformed into a car. He then waved at the space next to it and copied the car in red with black strips. All of this did almost nothing to his glow. He waved his hands four more times and four more minis in different color combinations were sitting next to the pair of minis. Harry was still glowing.

"It's not enough. Copying those had almost no effect on my power level!" Harry said starting to panic a little bit.

"Then do all the cars! Or make the loft a house. Make rooms and furniture!" Dan said really starting to panic too. Sirius was running scans on Harry and he too was looking panicked.

"Right everyone out! I'm going to unleash a lot of raw power and I don't want any of you to get hurt!" Harry said.

Neville ran out but the two men looked like they wanted to stay so Harry pushed them out of the garage and slammed the doors shut. Harry stood in the center of the room and let go of his power. blindingly bright light shot out of his hands and he had to squint. Cars were blown apart and put back together. Walls shot out of the loft floor. Cars started to appear. The last thing he remembered before passing out was seeing the whole garage full of cars. Outside the garage both men found themselves on their asses looking at the big garage as it flashed and shook. Soon the light died down and they both shot to their feet and ran into the garage. There were six copies of each car in different colors and the loft had a sitting area with two brown leather couches, a few chairs, some tables and a big movie screen. The rest of the loft was now walled off with shiny wood planks with windows and a door. They found Harry laying on the floor next to a white Ferrari Daytona. Sirius ran some scans on him and sighed.

"He's fine, just resting now. He's a bit drained but he should be up soon. Let's get him to a soft place. One of those couches up there will do." Sirius waving his wand over Harry. He floated up and they moved him to one of the big broken in soft leather couches. As the men sat in the chairs and Neville took a seat next to Harry they all took a deep relaxing breath. Dan shook his head and started laughing.

"I can't believe all of this just happened. Look at this place. This is crazy. We're sitting in a building that didn't exist ten minutes ago. Harry has great taste. These chairs are perfect. This whole place is perfect. I wonder what behind the door?" Dan said looking at the green door.

"Only one way to find out." Sirius said smirking as he stood up.

They walked through the green door and saw an entryway that was well light by a black wrought iron chandelier and wall sconces. There was a round table in the middle of the room with a glass vase full of flowers. The walls were made of a light wood that contrasted with the darker wood floors. In the floors were green marble diamond shaped inlays. The room opened up into a living room with a green marble fireplace. Light brown leather couches and wrought iron tables with glass tops and Tiffany lamps.

"I've seen this before. All of it. It was in a magazine. My wife had it on the coffee table. Better homes and garden I think." Dan said.

"This place looks great." Sirius said as they looked into the three bedrooms down the hall. Each room had light colored area rugs, mahogany dressers, a big four poster king sized bed, a walk in closet, and an attached bathroom with white tile and antique brass fixtures.

"Emma's going to want to move in here." Dan said looking at the master suite at the end of the hall.

"Rock, paper, scissor for it?" Sirius asked with a smirk which fell off his face as Dan all of a sudden looked pale and sickly.

"I distinctly remember Hermione loving this house. I have a feeling that one day my little girl will be living in this house." Dan said in a voice filled with too many emotions for Sirius to decipher.

"Oh, OH! In that case, mazel tov?" Sirius said trying to hold in a laugh.

"Yeah." Dan said closing the master bedroom door.

"How are you feeling Dan?" Sirius asked trying but failing to hold in the smirk.

"I don't know." Dan said walking down the hall to get out of the house in the loft.

"Come on, you have to have some thoughts." Sirius said laughing.

"I really don't know okay! Now let's see how Harry's doing." Dan said closing the door behind him.

"Harry's fine, let's go take a few of these cars for a spin." Sirius said tossing a monitoring charm at Harry to make sure he was okay.

"He's sleeping. I heard him snore." Neville said with a smile.

"Good, come on Nev, let's go look at the cars." Sirius said waving the boy down with them. "Look at the all the shiny! I'll take one of everything." Sirius said standing on the top step to look out over the sea of cars.

"That's fine, but I have dibs on the black set." Harry muttered causing the three men to turn back and rush up the stairs. Harry was groggy but he was half sitting up and alert.

"How are you feeling Pup?" Sirius asked dropping into the seat next to him and running a scan on him one more time.

"Fine, I was just winded. I won't be doing any magic for a few hours but I'm fine. Now let's go look at the shiny." Harry said with a tired smile.

"Good boy." Sirius said hugging him to his side.

"What happened Harry?" Dan asked.

"I made a potion to restore half of my magic surplus. It's supposed to bring me back up to half full if i'm running low. The thing is I think I messed up the math when I made it. I think it restored five times my magic to me. I needed to burn it all off to stop my core from popping like a over full ballon. I did. I drained it back down to almost empty. It wasn't all bad though, I now know that I can cut that batch of power up by ten to make it safe, and I know I can now handle a huge influx of power. What I did today would have killed a normal mage. If Neville would have taken that potion he would have exploded. I'm not taking this lightly and I know I just dodged a bullet but I also know I can handle a lot more than most. Now let's go look at the cars. I made the black set for me." Harry said with a smile as he stood up and walked down the stairs with more confidence then he felt.

The guys got to test drive a few cars with Harry and Neville riding shotgun for the next half hour before the girls got back. When they did they saw the huge stone and wood four car garage that wasn't there when they left the house a few hours ago. They went inside and saw all the cars and the loft and the bar. They were shocked until the boys drove up in two muscle cars.

"Harry how did you?" Emma asked waving at everything. Hermione however was on him the second he got out of the car.

"What did you do?!" She all but yelled at him.

"Well, we bought a dozen classic but wrecked cars. We needed a place to store them so I magicked up a garage made of wood about a tenth of this size. But I was drained so I took one of my magical booster potions. Funny thing about that. I may have miscalculated the dose when we first made it." Harry said with a shrug and a tired smile.

"By How much!?" She asked looking afraid of the answer.

"It's off by a power of ten." Harry said flinched as he knew this was going to be bad. He was right. She was hugging the life out of him and running magical scans over his chest as tears streamed down her face.

"How are you? Did you? Are you feeling okay?" She finally got out through her sobbing.

"I'm fine, it was touch and go for a few seconds but as you can see I burnt off all the excess magic without hurting myself or anyone else." Harry said hugging her to his chest in a reassuring way.

"How were we so off?" she asked softly looking up into his eyes with a shocked look.

"It was one of our first creations. We do a lot more testing and planning now. This was just a bad call. What we need to do is cut this potion and store it. Aside from it being way overpowered it worked really well." Harry said with a smile.

"Harry this is no laughing matter you could have exploded." She said hitting him in the chest.

"I know, but I didn't and we have to move on." Harry said rubbing her back.

"Well I would like you to clarify it for me." Emma said looking angry and worried.

"I will mum, why don't I tell you as you take your birthday present for a spin?" Harry said waving at the BMW 507 in silver with red leather.

"This is mine?" She asked looking shocked.

"It's the reason we did all this in the first place. Come on, I restored it myself." Harry said leading her to the car with Hermione glued to his chest. "The rest of you pick a car, any car, as long as it's not black!" Harry called out to the group as he walked away.

"That boy is getting better at handling a panicked woman. Now why can't we take one of the black cars?" Amelia asked looking at the black Jaguar XK120.

"Because they are Harry's cars." Dan said.

"Well I can't argue with that. I'll take the little white Jag." She said practically running over to the little sports car with her niece following her.

"I kind of had my heart set on that one." Neville said looking disappointed.

"Just color change that ugly yellow one. Harry did make some ugly color choices in the heat of the moment." Sirius said looking at the yellow Aston Martin V8 vantage.

"They were Mini colors." Dan said.

"Hey what's wrong with the yellow?" Hanna asked walking up to yellow 1955 Porsche 356 convertible with a big grin.

That evening all of the adults and kids picked out cars, and the adults drove a convoy of classic cars into town. They ate at the old fashioned diner in town and headed to the ice cream shop for floats after. Harry handed Lyonel a hand full of gold coins for every bottle of Rootbeer and and orange soda he had in the shop so they could fill to two of the coolers behind the bar with sodas. Over the last two weeks of summer Harry and Hermione worked on the Longbottom's case and spent their up days adding cool things to the garage/pub. Harry made a pool table, dart boards, foosball table, ping pong table, and even an air hockey table. Dan found an old Jukebox in the paper and with a wave of his hands they had an antique Wurlitzer full of 45s from the 50's and 60's. The guys took a trip to a music store and filled the jukebox with AC/DC, Journey, Queen, and Foreigner. The kids spent most of their time in the garage and so did most of the adults. Dan filled the other cooler with Guinness, and lager and he loved to tend bar. On Wednesday Sirius took the guys to a junkyard that stocked motorcycles and that night there were a dozen bikes parked off to the side of the garage. They also added a car lift and tool boxes. On the last Tuesday in August with six days to go until they left for school Harry took Neville aside.

"Nev, I wanted to give you an update on your parent's case. We're breaking down the material we can get our hands on right now and we have a good working understanding of brain chemistry and mind healing but we need more books and more time. The other reason i wanted to pull you aside was to tell you we have to stop working on the case for a few days to work on something very important. Sirius told us how we're going to be sorted and we looked into the charms and magics that would go into something like that and we think we can replicate the hat here and do a practice sorting to make sure we all end up in the same house. This will make things easier on us in the long run." Harry said.

"No I get it. We need to be sorted into one house so we can continue or advanced training. This is a more pressing issue." Neville said nodding his head.

"Thanks nev. Just know that as soon as we get settled into the castle we'll get back to work." Harry said going back to the group sitting around the bar. As they took seats at the bar. Dan who was standing behind the bar with his sleeves rood up and a hand towel tossed over his shoulder walked over to them with a big grin on his face.

"What'll it be boys?" He asked grabbing the towel and wiping the bar like an old pro.

"Two root beers in frosty mugs." Harry said slapping a gold coin on the bar.

"Two sweet and foamies in frosty coldies coming right up!" He called out going to get their drinks.

"I think he's loving this whole bar tender thing way too much." Harry said as Dan poured both mugs of root beer at once by holding the two cold mugs at an angle in his left hand and the two bottles of root beer in the other hand. He set the two mugs on the bar and tossed the gold coin into a big glass jar at the end of the bar.

"Two cold ones boys, enjoy." He said as he walked over to his wife sitting at the bar chatting with Amelia and drinking wine.

"I wanted to thank you Harry. I know what you and Hermione are doing is crazy hard work and we are all thankful for the amount of time and effort you both put into this group." Neville said.

"Think nothing of it. We all have a responsibility to look after our friends and family. This group as a whole is our friends and you, Susan, Hanna, and Dora are family." Harry said patting him on the back as Dora called him over to the pool table. Neville sat deep in thought for a few minutes until Dan walked over and started wiping the spotless bar in front of him.

"Something on your mind son?" Dan asked in a wise old timey bartender tone.

"I tried to thank Harry for all the hard work he's putting in on my mum and dad's case but he just waved me off. He said i was family and that we look after family. The problem is I always feel like he's looking after me more than I ever look after him. I feel like the debt I owe him keeps getting bigger and bigger and I don't think I'll ever be able to pay him back." Neville said as he took a drink from his mug.

"Well son, you seem to have a real conundrum on your hands. Have you ever thought that your friendship is enough?" Dan asked with a smile.

"No, I mean, I'm no good as a friend either. I always need Harry's help to do everything. He showed me how to cast wandless magic, and he showed me lightsaber combat, he even showed me how to ride a broom and he taught me how to fix and ride a motorbike. I've given him nothing in return." Neville said.

"I wouldn't say that. Before you came along Harry was too mature for his age in an extreme way. He didn't know how to have fun at all and my daughter was no help either. She was just as big of a stick in the mud. But she learned how to act like a young girl when Susan and Hannah came along. And for a while Harry was even more alone because he was the only boy in a group of girls. Then you came along and Harry had a buddy. A guy to hang out with when the girls wanted to do girly things. You were there when Harry found his motorbike in that shop in town. You were there to help him take it all apart so he could figure out how to make one of his own. You were there for him when his godfather turned out to be innocent. You get what I'm saying son?" Dan asked with an easy smile.

"I think I do." Neville said nodding.

"Good. A man needs a wingman. A buddy, and you're Harry's buddy. Don't you forget it. Remember that movie i showed you two? Top Gun? You're his Goose. You watch his six and you make sure he has fun and stays loose." Dan said patting Neville on the back as Harry called out his name.

"Hey Nev, i beat Dora in 9 ball and got her off the table. You want to play me?" Harry asked spinning the cue over his head like a bo staff.

"You're on Harry!" Neville said with a smile as he hopped off the stool and walked over with his mug in hand.

"You're the only one here that gives me a good game. Come on table runner." Harry said with a smile and handed him a cue as he racked the balls. Neville smiled and turned to give Dan a nod but he was making jokes with his wife and wiping the bar.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry and Hermione spent the next two up days and four turned days working on a replica of the sorting hat but they couldn't figure it out. Hermione got frustrated with their efforts on their fourth turned day.

"It's useless, we can't crack the spells and enchantments on the hat, it's impossible to know how it works without the the hat." Hermione said throwing the book she was reading on enchantments on the desk.

"Then we get the hat." Harry said.

"Are you mad?" She asked.

"No, we get the hat, or a copy of it and work out the enchantments from that. We need to jinx the hat to get the sorting we want." Harry said standing up from his seat by the table.

"Harry, how are we going to get a copy of the hat?" She asked.

"Hat copying hat box." Harry said holding out his hands. A black hat box materialized, and Harry smiled as sweat beaded on his forehead. "Place the hat in the box, close the lid, the box flashes, pull the hat out, close the lid, box flashes, the hat is copied." Harry said.

"You think it will work?" she asked.

"I just put three quarters of my magical power into making this thing. It will work. What we need is Minerva, she can smuggle it in and copy the hat. All we have to do is call Minerva and have her come get the hatbox." Harry said with a shrug as he took a seat on the couch and fell asleep.

Minerva came over on Friday morning, she sat at the outdoor table with Emma, Dan, and Sirius. The kids laid out their plan to copy the hat, and figure out how it works so they could jinx it and make it pick the house they wanted. They also went into the reasoning behind it. Minerva listened to everything they had to say before smiling at them sadly.

"There are more than a few flaws in your very well thought out plan. The first one being that the hat is in Albus's office. An office connected to his living quarters and for the past month he's been spending all of his time in his office. Even if he was out of his office, his office is guarded by a phenix and living portraits of all the headmasters. The hat stays in his office until the sorting. He personally brings the hat down and leaves it in the alcove next to the teachers quarts on a stool where it sits for maybe ten minutes before the sorting. Every teacher not at the table before he comes in walks right by the hat. Two or three teachers at least. Then I come and get the hat to start the sorting. There is maybe a three minute window where no one is by the hat. There's also the little fact that it's sentient and anyone touching the hat or trying to tamper with it will wake it up and it will start calling for help. And even if you managed to copy the hat and with that copy you managed to find a way to jinx the copied hat the real sorting hat will never allow you to cast anything on it. It was made by Godric Gryffindor. Made the same way you make things, but unlike you, who has just started to understand the full range of your powers, he was old when he made it, 120-140 years old. His skills were emance. I hate to break it to you kids but there is nothing you can do to tamper with the sorting." She said.

"No, it looks like we can't mess with the sorting." Hermione said looking disjected.

"Well, I wouldn't count us out just yet. I think I have a plan, I just need to get with Sirius here and hammer out the details. But I think I can talk the hat into placing us in the house we want. We just have to pick a house." Harry said with a smirk.

"I think we go Gryffindor. We will have access to a professor we trust then." Hermione said looking to Minerva as she said it.

"To tell you the truth I think most of you would have ended up there without all this elaborate screaming. You are all good, honorable, and courageous warriors in training." Minerva said with a shrug.

"Well we'll make sure, are there any other kids you know of that should be sorted into our group. We're doing this to control who we have to let into this group. Meaning we want to be able to get out of bed and walk into our trunks and not have to explain to anyone where we're going. Now I understand we might have one or two outliers. But for the most part we want kids we can trust to get sorted into Gryffindor. If we fill up the house with our own people then there won't be enough room for the hat to sort anyone else into our room." Harry said.

"Well, so far I've done twenty home visits for Muggleborn students this year. I've also checked up on six half bloods as well as a few purebloods. Of those kids I can tell you at least six are Gryffindor material. Now will the hat sort them that way? I'm not sure. I can tell you this, Ron weasley is going to be a problem. His family are deep in Albus' pocket and the boy is very dim witted from what I've seen of him so far. There has never been a Weasley not sorted into Gryffindor. He will rat on you the second he gets a chance, and I bet he's going to try everything he can to befriend you." Minerva said.

"Really? So he would be a spy then? I don't know about you but spying seems very Slytherin. I wonder what the hat would have to say about that. I'm hoping the conversation we'll have with the hat will be very enlightening. Aside from him was there anyone we would want in our group?" Harry asked.

"Of the first years I helped this summer I can name a few that would be good fits for the group. I can also tell you that there are forty first years this year, twenty boys and twenty girls. Each house will get ten students, five of each. The first kid you should look at is a boy named Dean Thomas. He's a very athletic muggleborn with a good head on his shoulders and a penchant for accidental magic. He's on the mage scale so he should be able to pick up wandless magic like the rest of the group. He also has good grades in muggle school and his parents, both hard working professional, a doctor and an engineer in a lab of some sort I think, were not that happy about him attending Hogwarts. They wanted him to stay in school and go to university. So your double time schedule will go over well with them. The fact that he can come home almost every day and still keep up with his muggle schooling will put them and him firmly in your camp. Aside from that he's a good natured easy going kid." Minerva said with a smile as Hermione took out her notebook and started writing things down.

"So we have three boys and three girls so far. We need four more." Harry said making a white board with two columns.

"Well I have two boys to add to the list. These are easy picks. Michael Corner and Terry Boot. Both half bloods. Both from Ravenclaw family lines and both of them were raised to be Ravenclaws. Both families have deep roots in the magical world. Marcus and Mary Corner are potions brewers. Both Mary and Marcus are weak magic users but they are two of the most well respected potions brewers and researchers in the world. Emily Boot is an Auror and her husband Nigel runs a magical import export business. Both families are good friends and the boys grew up together. The two are best friends and powerful mages. They were both up to second year spells when I visited them a few months ago. The corners have also been teaching the boys potions for a few years. They could probably sit there potions OWLs right now. If your goal in life is to cure the world's problems with potions then these two are what you're looking for." Minerva said.

"They sound perfect, what are we looking at in terms of girls?" Harry asked.

"One name I can give you right off the top of my head is Sally-anne Perks. She's a muggle born from a low income house. She's attending Hogwarts on scholarship. Her mother died in childbirth and her father is in the muggle military. She was raised by her aunt who is also a muggleborn witch. She works as a legal secretary in Andy's office. Sally is a very smart young girl with a good head about her. She also has a strict military upbringing and a head for law, she wants to be an Auror or a law witch when she grows up." Minerva said with a smile.

"Good, we'll talk to Andy and see what she has to say about the girl and her aunt. Who else?" Harry asked looking at the board.

"Well I saw quite a few muggleborns that would fit in with your group but I think you'll want to look at a set of twins. Their from an Indian family and their father, Ravi Patil is an ICW ambassador to the UK. Their mother, Laxmi Patil is Indian magical royalty. Both girls are very powerful and have the potential to be very good. Also it would be good to get their parents into our group. Both girls score on the mage scale like the rest of the kids I mentioned but the older one, Padma, she's smart. She was taking advanced muggle classes and they were both tutored in magic. Parvati acts a bit dimwitted but they are both a good fits for the group." Minerva said.

"So we're looking at eleven? Five boys, six girls?" Harry asked.

"Yes, will the hat play ball and sort an odd number of kids into one house?" Hermione asked.

"I don't plan on giving the hat a choice. Right before the sorting you and my are going to use our invisibility robes to vanish from the group. Then we'll grab the hat and use the time turner and a trunk to kidnap the hat and bring it back to the shed. We'll have a good long talk with the hat. If the hat won't play ball i'll make a copy using the copy box and the copy will become the new sorting hat. The old one can spend the next few years hanging out in the shed. When we have our NEWTs in hand we'll give the hat back to the school. I can make a hat copied by my magic sort students however we want." Harry said with a shrug.

"That might work, the hat rarely speaks outside the sorting." Minerva said nodding at the shockingly easy way the kids side stepped the issue.

"There you go, now we can spend the last two days we have before school starts hanging out with our friends and planning. I want each of us to take one of these names and find them on the train. We'll question them and feel them out. If we think they'll fit then we'll bring them back to the last cabin on the train and we'll talk to them as a group. I want to get to the train platform early so we can sucre a train compartment, expand it and set up privacy charms, we'll also be able to catch these kids as they walk onto the platform." Harry said looking at the list with a calculating eye.

"Or we can just send them all invites with portkeys to a dinner at the house and we can meet them ahead of time. We can also get a feel for the parents and how they act." Hermione said.

"You think they would all come if we just sent letters?" Harry asked.

"Yes, especially if they came from you and they were hand delivered by either Minerva or Andy or Amelia. Your name is powerful in the wizarding world Harry." Hermione reminded him.

"True, I keep forgetting that." Harry said nodding. "Maybe a dinner and at the end of the night we can hand the parents cars and cases of gold coins. The cars take almost nothing to make and they would go over well." Harry said nadding.

"Now you're thinking. I'll write the letters and we'll hold the dinner tomorrow here at the house. We'll do an all day thing so the kids can use the garage pub and game room. We'll host lunch and play quidditch. Then we'll do dinner and a conversation about what we plan on doing. If we get an outlier we can mind trick them and send them on their way. We have six candidates, we only really need five." Hermione said.

"What are your feelings about this Mum?" Harry asked Emma who was sitting at the table listening to the whole thing.

"I think it's a better idea than trying to get a read on these kids in the few hours you have during the train ride. We will also get a chance to meet the parents. I say we do it. I'll call Amelia and Andy and plan it out. I wish we had more time to plot this all out." Emma said.

"We won't need much prep time because i'm going to handle all of the food. You just have to provide drinks for the adults and keep them entertained but from the way it sounds between Andy, Amelia, and Minerva they know all of these people." Harry said looking to Minerva.

"It's true. I spent time with each family and I can tell you that these people are all good upstanding people. I wouldn't suggest them if they weren't." Minerva said.

"Good. kids go play and take a break. I'll call Amelia and Andy." Emma said hugging the two as she sent them into the garage to hang out with the other kids.

"Harry and Hermione are getting freakishly good at plotting and planning." Sirius said looking shocked.

"Those two are a lot more grown up and mature then we give them credit for. Now, you two, go down to the off-license and get good drinks. Get a few cases of expensive wine and champagne as well as a few bottles of Scotch. In fact fill the bar in the pub. I'll go call Amelia and Andy. We need to get their take on these people. Minerva I hope you can join us today as well as tomorrow?" Emma asked the older witch.

"Of course I can. I can also head to the Alley and pick up a few bottles of Firewhiskey and cases of butterbeer for the kids. It has no real alcohol content. I'm also willing to go pick up the Thomas's tomorrow. They're the only family that won't know what a portkey is." Minerva said.

"Good thinking." Emma said as she pulled out her black magic mobile phone.

It took some planning and a few home visits from Amelia, Andy, and Minerva but the next day at ten the first group showed up. It was Minerva and the Thomas family. The three Thomas's, dressed in their sunday best, took a few moments to gather themselves but as soon as they did they looked around and saw they were in a huge back yard in front of a very nice upscale two story house. Minerva lead them off the portkey landing area and over to the garage where Emma, Dan, Harry, and Hermione were standing by the small round outdoor tables Harry made yesterday. The Grangers greeted them with smiles and Harry floating a tray of drinks next to him.

"Dan, and Emma this is Ray and Macy Thomas and their son Dean. Thomas's these are the Grangers, Dan and Emma, their daughter Hermione, and Harry Potter." Minerva said.

"It's nice to meet you all, would you like a mimosa?" Emma asked with a smile as she shook their hands.

"Don't mind if I take one, that port thingy was not fun." Raymond said shaking Dan's hand. Harry floated the try up to him and he was shocked.

"I remember the first time Harry took me to London by portkey. I felt sick for an hour." Dan said with a smile.

"So you're like us then? Normal?" Macy asked as she visibly relaxed.

"Totally normal, aside from our daughter." Dan said.

"Thank God, I thought we were going to be the only ones." Raymond said with a big smile.

"No, we're going to be the majority today, most of the families coming here today are at least half normal. Emma and I are Dentists although with Harry's powers and the amount of gold he gave to us we really cut back on our hours at work." Dan said as Harry and Hermione shook hands with Dean.

"Would you like a root beer Dean?" Harry asked summoning a cold mug and a bottle of root beer from inside the garage and handed it to him.

"Wow you just did magic?!" Dean said as Harry poured him a mug of root beer.

"I can do a lot more then that, and I'm willing to teach you if you want to learn." Harry said with a smile.

"No kidding?" Dean asked looking excited.

"No Kidding. Come on, I'll show you how easy it is." Harry said waving at the garage and the first set of doors opened.

"Harry, we have to wait for the rest of the guests." Emma said.

"That's right. Well it looks like learning will have to wait until later. Sorry buddy." Harry said.

"No sweat. I can wait." Dean said looking at the huge garage with wide eyes.

"Can Dean do that one day?" Macy asked looking shocked.

"That and a lot more. But he won't learn that at the school, that's why I wanted you to meet the Grangers and Harry. Harry's quite gifted and he has a way of teaching that is revolutionary." Minerva said.

"Then why send him to the school at all?" Macy asked.

"Laws. In the wizarding world, in order to own a wand after the age of fifteen you need to take a test called the OWLs. They're like magical SATs. but with the system we came up with we'll be able to take them in three years not five. And we'll be able to take advanced placement tests the year after that." Harry said.

"We'll also be able to come home almost everyday and keep up with our regular school work." Hermione said.

"No kidding?" Macy asked looking excited.

"It's no joke, we're both exceptional students and we plan on keeping up with that." Harry said.

At that point Andy showed up with Ted, Dora, Sally-anne Perks, her aunt, and her father who was in his dress greens with full brass and bars. Andy lead them over to the group.

"Dan and Emma Granger meet Captain Sam Perks, his sister Caitlin Perks, and his daughter Sally-anne. Perks clan meet the Grangers and their daughter Hermione, and this is Harry Potter." Andy said.

"It's an honor to meet you Captain Perks." Dan said shaking the man's hand.

"None of that, just call me Sam." The bigger man said with a big friendly smile.

"I can do that. Can I offer you something to drink?" Dan asked pointing to the tray that was still floating next to Harry who was busy talking to little Sally.

"I'll take a beer if you have one." Sam said looking at the frilly drinks on the try.

"A man after my own tastes. Harry! Get Sam here a Beer and a frosty glass." Dan said and Harry, without missing a beat in the conversation he was having, held up his hand and a bottle of lager and a cold glass came shooting out of the garage they came to a stop in front of Dan who plucked them from the air and handed them to Sam.

"Now that's some bloody skill." Sam said before he was hit in the arm by his sister who was standing next to him. "What? It was." Sam said.

"Still that's no way to speak in front of children. You have to excuse my brother. He skipped school the day they were handing out manors." Caitlin, but you can call me Cat, said.

"It's fine, the kids have heard worse from Dan, and Amelia swears like a sailor." Emma said.

"Hey Dork Skywalker, I want to kick your butt in pool." Dora said with a smile as she hugged Harry and Hermione.

"We can't, we have to stay here and greet guests as they come." Harry said.

"Well just because you're stuck here doesn't mean we have to be, come on guys. Let go" Dora said waving Dean and Sally into the garage.

"You guys are free to go sit inside as well." Dan said pointing inside the garage door were the pub and the cars could be seen.

"Wow, you have a lot of nice cars Dan." Sam said peeking inside.

"They're not all mine. Harry made them. Feel free to look around and pick out anyone on this side of the garage. If you like a different color Harry can change it for you." Dan said waving Sam and Ray inside as well.

"Would you look at that! It's a Ferrari Daytona Spider!" Ray said.

"Keys are in the ignition if you want to take it for a test drive." Dan said as Amelia portkeyed in with Mary Abbott, Susan, Hannah, and the Boot family, Emily, Nigel, and Terry. With this group came another round of introductions.

By the time the Patils showed up just after half past ten Harry was bored out of his mind standing around. Dora and Neville didn't help matters. They kept coming out to mess with him. But after saying hello to the Patils who were more interested in seeing and talking to him then the Grangers which put a black mark in Harry's book. They all split up with the men hanging around the cars and bikes. The women sitting at the tables Harry made in front of the bar. The kids also split up with the boys playing pool and darts, and the girls riding horses, playing with the dogs, and sitting at the tables in front of the garage. Harry was the outlier in that equation. He spent the two hours circulating between each group. He made sure to talk with each kid and adult. By the time they all gathered for lunch at the big table in the backyard Harry was sure that everyone was a good fit with the group.

He was unsure about the Patils but he soon figured them out. Ravi was trying very hard to look as formal as he could because he was used to dealing with royalty and heads of state. Laxmi on the other hand was a soft and gentle woman who was looking to marry off her daughters to powerful but kind men. She had an arranged marriage but unlike most she was given a choice of suitors to choose from and she wanted the same thing for her little girls. As soon as she saw how taken Harry was with Hermione she backed off and made her husband relax. She saw this was a chance to form a friendship with a powerful house and she made sure her whole family could fit in with the group. When they were all seated at the table Harry stood up and walked to the head of the table where Dan was seated.

"For lunch today we have two options. A meat option and a fish option. For the meat option we have grilled chicken breast with a cream sauce over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetable. For the fish option we have grilled salmon over a bed of grilled asparagus and new potatoes with a hollandaise sauce. Now who will be having the chicken?" Harry asked and all of the kids and most of the adults raised their hands. Harry waved his hands and place settings appeared in front of everyone. He waved again and the people with their hands up got plates with the chicken dish. He waved again and the rest got the fish. He waved at the three bottles of white wine and they floated up off the table. He kept his right hand up but lowered his left and the bottles lowered but the wine stayed floating in the air. When the bottles hit the table he raised his left hand and clapped his hands when he separated his hands the wine split up into twenty equal parts and sank down into the adults wine glasses. He smiled at the table full of shocked looks and took his seat in the middle of the table.

"That's new!" Emma said.

"I've been practising, Hermione has too. I can keep close to fifty ball bearings in the air and juggle them. Hermione is up to two dozen." Harry said with a smile.

"It's half true, I can lift twenty-six ball bearings into the air at once and juggle them if i'm in deep meditation and I have full control of my power. Harry on the other hand can lift one at a time and keep the rest going and he can do it while holding a conversation or while he's reading." Hermione said shaking her head.

"Well i'm glad you find the whole thing shocking as well dear. I thought you could all do that." Emma said shaking her head the same way her daughter was.

"So this level of Magic is not normal?" Macy asked. She was a family doctor that ran a practice in the nicer end of West Ham where she dealt with a lot of bad things, it was still West Ham after all. She could have worked and lived anywhere with her skills but she was doing the lord's work helping the people that needed it the most.

"No, but it's possible for a lot of people." Hermione said. "All magicals have a core of power. It's a well that we use to manipulate the world around us. There are spells that measure how big our cores are. The spell gives you a number on a scale. 1-50 is squib level. It means you have enough magic in your body to form a core but not enough to cast spells. 50-100 is normal magical range. Your everyday witches and wizards. They can cast spells. 100-200 is the mage range. If you fall in that range you can perform wandless magic, you can enchant things, and you can cast ward spells. Every kid at this table falls in the mage range. 200 and up is the arch mage range. There are maybe a handful of people in the world that rank up there. Harry is in this range. He's capable of doing things most of us will never be able to do." Hermione said.

"Just how high do you rank on the scale Harry?" Macy asked finding this whole thing very interesting.

"High, but my number fluctuates a lot every day. It's also increasing by the day. This is what we wanted to talk to you all about. Hermione and I think we cracked the code of how to expand your core." Harry said calmly.

"WHat!?" Half the table exploded at once.

"Please!" Harry said raising his hands for quite. "Thank you. Now as I was saying we think we can all end up in the Arch Mage range but in order to confirm this we needed test subjects. Friends that are willing to work very hard and dedicate their lives to finding out if this will work. I can say this now. If you all work with us we can guarantee you all at least jump up 100 point on the mage scale in 20 weeks. We know this is possible because both Hermione and I have jumped 30 points in six weeks. Now this could be natural growth but from the research we've been doing into how the magical core works with the body in healing magic we've come to some conclusions that might have huge implication in magic and how we treat our cores. To know for sure we need more people to study." Harry said taking a drink of water from his glass.

"How is this all possible?" Minerva asked.

"We had this theory when we started working on the recharge tonic but the real results we saw go back to the day Harry almost killed himself by drinking the overpowered magic recharge potion. The day after that he was ten points higher. His score went from 375 to 385 in one day. And while he's right we both did go up 30 points he's more than doubled me. We think, and here's where our work will really come into play, we think that if a mage drains themselves to almost empty everyday and, and if they take Harry's healing tonic every night, they gained a one point bump in the morning. We saw this with me. I was a 127 six weeks ago the first day I tried this which was a Monday. I drained my core to 60 points by casting spells and practising magic. I took a small dose of Harry's healing tonic and the next day I was a 128. By monday the next week I was 132. We kept this up and i'm now 157. For every seven days we did this I saw a five point bump. Two days a week the number stays the same and we think it's the core's natural way of building at a safe rate. Five points for a mage is what we think our cores can handle. Harry on the other hand grows much faster but we think he's hitting a plateau because he's slowing down. Each week he's gaining less and less until we think he'll hit a normal mage growth rate. In the beginning he was gaining 15 points a week then after two weeks he dropped to twelve points. Then 10 points. Now he's up to 7 a week. He tops out at about 466 now." Hermione said in the prim and clinical tone she used when she was lecturing.

"466 and he hasn't even reached his maturity." Minerva said looking dizzy.

"Yes, we believe the age of maturity is when the elasticity will run out. We're not sure because we need to test it but we're sure it will slow down and then stop working at the age of maturity. But until we get there we think we can all be Arch Mages. If you look at the numbers i'll be able to reach Arch Mage level in ten more weeks. We would like to document all of this especially the day I hit 200. We don't know what will happen on that day. I'll either stop growing, or I might gain access to Arch Mage powers. We're again not sure. We just can't be sure of what will happen. I can say that the side benefits of Harry's healing tonic are a huge bonus, i've never felt stronger." Hermione said flexing her toned and well muscled arm in her sun dress.

"The tonic uses the nutrients you take in to your body to rebuild and fix your body. These are our peak physical forms." Harry said.

"You have a potion that can just do that?" Macy asked looking shocked.

"Yes, and before you ask it only works if you have a core. But we are going to look into that at some point. It's on the list of things we want to do." Harry said

"But are there other magical medicines that would work on normal people?" Macy asked.

"There might be, we'll look into it. We're doing a lot of research into healing right now because we're working on healing Neville's parents. They were injured in the war. That's our main priority. Second to that is the mage core monitoring." Harry said as Hermione made a few notes in her small black book.

"We'll see about it, and you'll hear from us by October. For now you should ask the Corners, they're potions brewers." Hermione said pointing to the two bookish looking quite people sitting at the other end of the table. They were listening to the conversations going on around the table and when Hermione said their name they both looked up.

"Yes?" Marcus asked.

"I was telling Dr. Thomas here that you two would be the best to talk to in regards to a potions question. She wants to know if there are any known healing tonics that will work for muggles." Harry said.

"There are a few but they tend to be on the weak side and they amount to being more of a costly waist then overly helpful. The only one that really works good is pepper up. It stops muggle colds almost instantly. But the dosage needs to be spot on or it ends up being harmful." Marcus said.

"Skelly Grow too dear. Don't forget about that one. It works really good but again, why you would use it is beyond me. A bone mending spell works much better." Mary said with a smile.

"Bone mending spell?" Macy asked looking very excited.

"A simple spell that mends broken bones." Mary said.

"You can just mend bones with a spell?" Macy asked.

"Yes. it's a very simple charm spell, you learn it in fifth year." Mary said with a smile.

"What else can you do?" Macy asked.

"Loads of things. You and I should sit down and talk about Magical healing." Mary said.

"That's a good idea." Macy said with a smile.

"And when you get a chance we'd love to pick your brains about a few potions we're developing." Harry said.

"You're developing a new potion?" Marcus asked looking shocked.

"Yes. a few of them actually. Right now we're working on a mind healing tonic and while our source books and notes are good we'd love to get your opinion on our work." Harry said.

"I would love to look it over. Do you plan on publishing or private brewing for the market?" Marcus asked.

"Publishing. We used a potions master's notes as a base to work off of and we want to make sure the man is credited for his contribution to the potions we made. We we're also hoping to come up with a book of low cost alternatives to the high cost potions people use everyday. We were hoping to put out a small 'cookbook' for lack of a better term. Easy to read instructions, easy to brew potions using easy to find cheap ingredients. We already have a few ready to go thanks to the notes we were working off of. My personal favorite is a substitute for the sleeping draught using a combination of Hops, Wild lettuce root, lavender, and Valerian root. Small bits of each are boiled together for an hour in a large cauldron. After that the the clippings are strained out and you end up with forty doses of a nice and gentle sleeping potion that has no side effects. The best part is that the whole batch of potion only costs about three sickles to make." Harry said.

"Three SIckles!" Marcus said looking really shocked now.

"We have a recipe for a giant batch of pepper up that cost just two sickles to make. You get close to 300 doses in one go. Half the ingredients you can get in a muggle produce section of the grocery store." Hermione added with a smirk.

"I need to see this." Marcus said with a big smile on his face.

"We'd love to bring you both in on our work. Having you both to bounce ideas off of would be a huge help to us." Hermione said.

"I think we've made enough gold with our brews. We would love to help." Mary said.

"Well gold is no issue. I can make it by the pallet load. I keep a pocket full of 1p coins, and i've gotten very good at making gold Krugerrands." Harry said pulling out a 1p coin and showing everyone at the table. He closed his hand and the coin flashed. When he opened his hand two gold coins were sitting in the palm of his hand. "These coins are muggle and each one is worth about four gold galleons. I can make them from thin air but using the bronze and steel 1p coins is easier." Harry said to a table that was half silent with their jaws dropped.

"You're a Maker!" Laxmi yelped before regaining her composure. "Sorry for the outburst. My great grandmother was a Maker. It is why we are royalty." She said looking shocked.

"Really? I would love to pick your brain about some of the things she did with her powers. I would love to know what the limits are." Harry said.

"THere is not much to tell. My great grandmother spent her days making gold and jewels. She bought land as far as the eye could see and she built a palace made of gold and jewels. She had three sons and three daughters. All of them became corrupted by the power of wealth and the sons killed each other and wounded her faitly over gold. My great grandmother decreed that from that day forward no man would inherit the throne. She died soon after that and her oldest daughter took over as queen. That was my great aunt Lakshmi. Not that it mattered. My great grandmother taught her children to live like gods and when she died the gold soon dried up. Instead of cutting back on their extravagance they sold off the lands. When they ran out of land they started carving gold from the walls of the palace. I am three generations removed from my great grandmother Anji and our once great land has mostly been sold off. The palace is mostly stone and mortar because we've been taking the gold from the walls to pay off debts and the rest of my family still fight over what little gold is left. Being a maker is true power, but that power can corrupt your soul. Always remember that all the gold in the world can not fill the hole of greed." She said softly.

"I've studied buddhism, I find some of it's teachings very enlightening. One such teaching is that there are two paths. One path leads to material wealth, the other leads to nirvana. I have always been humble in my everyday life. I have, from the very beginning of my training, tried to live by a code of ethics. I can make gold, but I try very hard not to use it too much. If I do it's for others. I can make jewels, but you see none on me. I made everything i'm wearing, but none of it is anything special. Every time I get greedy, or too over the top with my wants and greed I always meditate on those feelings and try to understand where they come from." Harry said.

"Still, if you can just make those gold coins would you mind passing a few my way? The Army doesn't pay it's officers like it used to." Sam said with laugh.

"Sure." Harry said holding out his hand. He summoned a fifty foot chain from the garage. He waved at the chain and it became ten silver attache cases floating in the air. He floated them to the table in front of the heads of the families sitting at the table minus Dan. They all took the cases and when they opened them they saw ten rows of coins that went the full width of the case.

"My God Kid I was joking around!" Sam said looking at the coins with wide eyes.

"It's just gold?" Harry said with a shrug.

"How much is in here?" Ray Thomas asked.

"10 rows of 150 coins. 210 pounds sterling a coin. Each case has 315,000 pounds. Or 12,600 gold galleons worth." Harry said.

"And you're just giving us this?" Nigel Boot asked.

"It's just gold. In the grand scheme of thing gold matters very little. Friendship means more. The wizarding world is headed for big changes. If our work on core expansion is right then every kid sitting at this table might one day be able to make a case like that with a wave of their hand. They might also be elementals of whatever branch they might be. It all depends on how this turns out. We would like to offer you all a seat at the table. You are dining with the Minister for Magic, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. Some of you have titles of your own, but all of you are here because you're good people. Now as you can see there are perks to joining this group. Gold, cars, political and magical power. For the kids at this table there is more than just power, there's training. Both physical and mental. You will all be given one of these." Harry said pulling his lightsaber and igniting the green training balde.

"Is that a lightsaber!?" Ray asked looking giddy.

"It is, you see a few years ago I saw a trilogy of films, and from that I unlocked my magic. As you can imagine I thought I was a Jedi. From that day on I threw myself into becoming a jedi. Martial arts, Force powers, sword fighting, meditation, eastern religion. Anything I could get my hands on" Harry talked for a good long time, he explained his ideas, and the time turner schedule. He ended with. "and we would like to offer this training to you. You'll be out of magical school in four years, not seven. You'll get a muggle education, and you'll be fully trained in the Jedi arts as I like to call them. You will also be stronger, more powerful, also depending on the Arch Mage power expansion you might be, a maker or a fire, water, air, or earth elemental. So what do you say, do you all want in?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I'm in, I want to finish my schooling so I can get into university." Dean said looking at his parents as he talked.

"You're damn right we're in. I want a lightsaber!" Ray said excitedly as his wife rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"As long as Dean gets to finish his schooling and he can learn to cast magic like you can them I agree." Macy said laughing at her husband.

"I agree with that, I like the thought of my little girl being able to be that powerful." Sam said.

One by one the rest of the groups agreed, they all had different reasons but for the most part the parents liked the idea of their kids coming home everyday and the idea of them becoming as powerful as Harry.

"Good, I was hoping you would all join the group. Later you are all going to get an item of jewelry. Inside that piece of jewelry is one of these stones." Harry said holding up a golf ball sized round cut diamond. "It's something we came up with when we took apart and studied the charmed protection necklace. Each of these stones is enchanted to protect you from mental intrusions and it's also a minor shield charm that covers your person. The wizarding world can be a dangerous place and details of what we're doing really don't need to get out." Harry said.

"You can make enchantments?" Emily Boot asked looking excited.

"I can, and before you ask, the best body armor you can get is the stuff Amelia got from madam Malkin. However the minor shield charm does block everything up to good blasting charm, and it can take a few hits before it's overloaded due to the size of the stone. They also stack. Amelia, Minerva, and Aurora are all wearing three charmed items each. I can offer you all more but I have just one each for now. We have to make some more later. It take some time to make the stones and then to enchant them." Harry said and Hermione pulled out her black book and made some notes.

"It's on the list after the Longbottoms and before the Wolfsbane." She said.

"So three weeks?" Harry asked looking at his partner.

"There about. We'll mass produce them and store the extras for later like we did with the first batch." She said nodding.

"Good thinking we also have some work to do tonight and tomorrow." Harry said.

"Trunks?" She asked.

"Yeah, and bags of holding, cloaks, and lightsabers." Harry said.

"We'll get started on turn day one and hopefully we can get most of it done during the first week of school." She said thinking about the amount of work they had to do.

"Do these two always plot and plan like two mad scientist?" Sam asked laughing.

"You have no idea. They're smarter and more powerful than anyone at this table." Dan said with a fatherly pride that was matched in Sirius' eyes.

"You leave my evil geniuses alone. They're plotting world domination." Emma said with a smile.

"Actually we're plotting out how much work we have to get done to get this group up and running. For now we can have trunks ready by tomorrow and most of the standard kit we'll have ready by the end of the week." Hermione said.

"Yes but for now let's set up the rings and break out the brooms for a pick up quidditch game." Harry said.

"What's Quidditch?" Ray asked Dan.

"Loads of fun that's what. Hey Harry, you think we can play kids versus adults?" Dan asked.

"It's a bit unfair, you outnumber us by six." Harry said pulling a trunk out of his pouch on his belt.

"Yeah but you and Hermione can outfly all of us." Dan said.

"True, first off we have to get the people that never rode on a broom up in the air." Harry said walking into the trunk soon another trunk was tossed out of the open trunk before Harry came back out sitting on a broom with three dozen brooms following him. It looked like the scene out of the sorcerer's apprentices.

"You mean people can really fly on brooms!" Ray yelled excitedly. He rushed around the table holding the lightsaber Harry made for him.

They spent the next four hours teaching adults and children how to ride and play. They were slow to get started but they all relaxed after Harry showed them how the cousining charms on the ground worked which caused a bit of a panic and then shock as Harry popped back to his feet after a thirty foot fall. Once they saw that they all relaxed and soon they all got the hang of it. After an hour of flying around Harry called them all down and they picked teams. They played six on six with five chasers and one keeper. They played first to ten points and then they would switch off with the next team. The kids trounced the adults soundly with the only one close match of the day with two stacked teams of ringers. The two teams were made up of Harry, Hermione, Neville, Susan, Dora and Dean who was a natural athlete and a really good chaser. They battled Sirius, Amelia, Emily and Nigel Boot, Marcus Corner, and Ravi Patil. They were all on house teams growing up and Ravi played Semi-pro in India in his 20's. The game lasted a half hour with a score of 9-10 in favor of the kids. They figured out how to beat Harry in that game. Sirius stayed on him the whole game and effectively made it a five on five game. It was an interesting way to play but Hermione was still on the kids team and she scored six of the ten goals.

After that Harry broke out the smaller 150cc Honda dirt bikes and soon he was giving lessons in balancing the bike, turning, and hand controls. Soon they had kids riding around the horse trails on dirt bikes. Hermione on the other hand started giving lessons in Lightsaber combat. By the time that all sat down at the big table for dinner which was a big family style spread with bowls and platters full of meats, fish, potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. This time the dinner conversation flowed a lot easier then it did at lunch. These people all knew each other by now and they were more comfortable talking to each other. Harry also saw groups forming. Macy Thomas and the Corners were deep in medical discussion with Emma. Ravi Patil was talking to Nigel Boot, and Ted Tonks about business. Sam Perks, Emily Boot, Aurora, and Amelia were talking shop. The kids were chatting in twos and threes with Sirius and Dan holding a conspiratorial conversation with Neville, Dean, and Dora. Susan and Hannah were making fast friends with the twins. Harry and Hermione sat in the middle of the table sharing a plate of pumpkin pie with ice cream on top and smiling at the group. They knew that this night would cement an alliance that would last them a lifetime. They also knew they would need to put in some time and get to know the group of kids, after all they were going to be running the wizarding world one day. When dinner was over Harry and Hermione got everyone's attention.

"As we close the evening's festivities we wanted to hand out the shield charmed stones. Each stone will be placed in a gold setting. Let's start with kids, line up guys, and lets get started." Harry said as Hermione handed him a golf ball sized diamond from a black velvet bag. Harry took the stone as Parvati stepped up to be first in line. "So, Flashy twin, what are we thinking? Something small and simple or big and ostentatious?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Big and shiny!" She said with a big smile and a ting of red around her cheeks. 

"Big and shiny it is." Harry said pulling three bronze coins from his pocket. He turned them into six gold coins and set the big stone on top of the shiny coins. He waved at the stack and it floated out of his hand. Another wave and it shifted shape. The coins melted together and formed an intracut gold necklace with the huge round cut diamond in the center. "Will this do?" He asked with a smile as her eyes got big and round and her mouth fell open.

"Y..yeah um, yes that's, pretty." She said plucking the ornate piece out of the air.

"Good, happy customers are repeat customers. Next!" Harry said looking at Padma who was watching him work with intelligent eyes. "What can I get for you young lady?" He asked with a smile.

"Simple please, and not so big?" She asked.

"Let's see what I can do." Harry said turning one bronze coin into two gold coins and adding a diamond to the stack. He waved his hands and a simple gold locket in the shape of a book on a thin chain floated over his hand. "A simple locket for a lady with refined taste." Harry said floating the locket to her.

"Where's the stone?" She asked taking the locket.

"It's inside. There is also enough space inside to fit a few things." Harry said with a smile.

"Wow, thank you very much Harry." She said bowing her head ever so slightly as she walked back to the table.

"NExt!" Harry called out making the group laugh as Dean stepped forwards.

"If you don't mind Harry can I get something less…" Dean started to ask.

"Girly?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Yeah mate, if you don't mind?" Dean asked.

"Not at all. How about a nice watch?" Harry asked holding up his left arm to show off his Omega Speedmaster that he made.

"Now we're talking mate." Dean said nodding.

"How about you two? Watches all around?" Harry asked Michael and Terry.

"That sounds good me." Terry said.

"Nice." Michael said.

Harry took a few more coins out of his pocket and the three stones Hermione handed him. He turned the coins into two dozen dull white gold coins and floated it all in front of him. Closing his eyes he waved at the floating mass and separated it into three separate piles and one at a time they all melted and formed into three watches with metal bands. "Three Omega Speedmasters." Harry said floating the watches to the guys. "The gem is the 12 O'clock marker. The cases are a tough white gold compound. The glass is scratch proof and it's powered by magic to always keep the right time." Harry said.

"Those are really nice. Can I get one of those?" Sam Perks asked.

"Sure, how about the rest of the guys?" Harry asked.

Soon the parents were all sporting watches or lockets. Harry sent everyone home with a reusable set of portkeys and every adult left with a car. After they all left Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the night sitting with Emma, Dan, Sirius, Aurora and the dogs on the big couch in the loft over the bar. They watched Mary Poppins and had popcorn but mostly they just sat close and held their ever growing dogs. When the movie ended they all headed into the house with the Sirius and Aurora using the door to get to Sirius' newly renovated townhouse. Harry walked into his room and saw a note on his bed. He picked it up and read the the short note before vanishing it. He walked over to Hermione's room and knocked on the door. When she opened it he smiled at her with a big grin.

"All we have to do is copy the Hat and the real sorting hat will play ball. We can spend the time working on the trunks." Harry said.

"Good, we'll be able to get most of the trunks done." She said matching his smile.

"That was my thinking. The note also said we did a full 48 turn with the hat." Harry said yawning.

"Are we going to take a ride in the morning or do you want to sleep in?" She asked looking at her watch.

"No, we made a promise to the horses and dogs, and we should keep it. We have two whole days ahead of us and we can take a nap as soon as we turn." Harry said reaching down to pat Blaze on the head.

"Okay, i'll see you in the morning Harry, goodnight." She said stepping out of her room into the hall to hug Harry.

"Goodnight." He said with a soft smile as he turned around and headed back to his room. He changed for bed and as he laid down to go to sleep Blaze laid his big head on the bed by Harry's pillow and gave him a sad puppy dog look.

"What's wrong boy? Do you want to lay on the bed?" He asked petting his big head. Blaze shook his head. "Oh, you still want to come with me to school?" Harry said and Blaze nodded.

"We talked about this, it would be to hard to…" Harry started but Blaze started to make a whining sound and his eyes got big and sad. "You know what? Fine, we'll take you and Shadow with us, we'll make it work. You'll probably have to spend most of the school day in the dorm room. But we'll make it work. Now get up here you big baby. If anyone asks i'm telling them none of the details of this conversation. No one needs to know you cried like a baby and I caved as soon as you did. We'll tell everyone we had a grown up conversation about you staying with me to act as my noble guard dog." Harry said scratching his dog's belly. Blaze for his part had a huge grin on his face.

"Don't gloat, it's not nice." Harry said and the big grin fell off his big dog's face but his tail was still waging. "Don't ever play cards with Sirius, he'll take your bowls and collar with that tail of yours." Harry said holding the drak gray dog that was almost as big as he was as he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Sorry i missed posting last week, work and life got in the way of fun and story writing. As for this fic, a few people have pointed out that i'm 8 chapters in and i said this was going to be 12 chapters in the beginning. First off that was a rough estimate. Secondly, i underestimated the amount of setup i needed for the characters and the group as a whole. Also, as for their schooling, their not going to spend seven years at Hogwarts and i'm going to go back to skipping through the more boring day to day life thing after the next chapter where the action is going to happen like i did at the start of the story. I covered three years in three chapters. As for the fact that Harry is super OP, all i can say is, yeah he is. Magic in my stories is funny like that, if you think about it, if you just spend time learning spells and if you keep working your core you become powerful. Hermione is a good example of this in the books. She spent time learning spells, if she was just a little bit morally ambiguous, and had an imagination she could have been very OP. instead she followed the rules and they barely made it to the end of the books. Harry and the group are very powerful, Voldemort is not much of a match for them, the point of the story is not some big final conflict with a big bad. It's a story about a boy that stumbled onto something and through luck, hard work, friendship, and imagination he's going to fix a broken magical world. Voldemort and Dumbledore are not the end of the story just the end of this particular storyline. Harry and Hermione want to be Unspeakables and fix the world's problems. That might be a later storyline i pick up somewhere down the line.

Harry got up with the sun thanks to Blaze's small bladder. The big dog licked his face before walking to the door. Harry rolled out of bed summoned his robe and slippers and followed the big dog down the stairs and out the back door, on the way out he ran into Hermione with Shadow coming down the stairs. They nodded to each other as Maggie and Snow came running down the stairs heading for the backyard. They all picked a spot by the tree by the side of the garage. Harry pulled the sunglasses out of his robe pocket and put them on as he took a seat at the big outdoor table. Hermione sat next to him and looked back and forth between her dog and Harry. She was about the say something but Harry cut her off.

"Blaze and I had a very mature and Manly conversation last night and we decided that both he and Shadow should come with us to school. They can spend most of the day in the dormroom and we can walk them in the morning, during lunch, and after dinner." Harry said making two cups of caramel cappuccino with whipped cream on top.

"A manly conversation?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes." Harry said looking away and took a drink from his cup as Hermione laughed at him. Dan and Emma came out in their robes and slippers.

"What are we laughing at?" Emma asked as she took a seat next to the kids.

"Harry got bullied by Blaze into taking him to school. It would seem the dogs are staying with us." She said with a smile as Shadow came to her side and laid her head in her lap.

"We had a manly conversation." Harry said making two more cups for them as well as four plates of bacon and eggs with french toast. Blaze came and sat next to him. "Right boy? Manly conversation." Harry said. Blaze looked at his master and nodded as his tail wagged. "See." Harry said making four bowls of bacon, scrambled eggs, and cubes of rare steak for the dogs.

"Right." Hermione said laughing as she tucked into her breakfast.

"SO today's the day?" Emma said with a smile but there was a sad look to her eyes.

"Please mum, we'll be back later today. We'll have lunch right here at this table. In fact we're already here. We're in the shed right now. When we leave we'll come out and stretch our legs. By the time you get back from dropping us off we'll be sitting here taking a break for lunch. From the note I left myself we've been doing mind numbingly boring work for the last 36 hours. After lunch we'll go back to work. We'll take the door back to Hermione's trunk and we'll join back up with the group for dinner." Harry said with a smile.

"36 hours? I hope you both took time to sleep." Emma said.

"Well we didn't do anything, we're the up time us, but our turned selves took time to rest." Hermione said making both her mum and dad go crossed eyed.

"Time travel." Dan said shaking his head with a smile.

"Tell me about it. I have to live it. I'm glad I have this one here to keep track of the days." Harry said with a smile.

"Speaking of the time we have to get going soon. We have a tight schedule to keep." She said looking at her watch.

"You're right." Harry said checking his watch too.

"You two are always rushing off to do God only knows what. Can't you take it easy this morning?" Emma asked holding Hermione to her side.

"Mum, we have things to do, responsibilities, and mission prep. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to shower and get dressed. We have some horses to look after. Because just like you, they can't grasp the fact that we'll be back tomorrow." Hermione said rolling her eyes with a smile as she hugged her mum and headed back into the house.

"She's feeling just as emotional as you are, she's just hiding it under her work. I think when we come back tomorrow she'll have a different tone, it'll be the first time she sleeps away from home." Harry said hugging Emma as he headed into the house.

"Those two are growing up too fast." Emma said choking back a sob.

"Em?" Dan said taking her hand as she cried.

"It's fine I'm fine. It's my damn emotions, they're all over the place. I think it's the potions the kids made for me. I feel like I'm pregnant already. Damn mood swings." She said wiping her eyes as she smiled.

"Hormones." Dan said nodding.

"I'll be fine. I'm just happy the kids are going to be coming home everyday." She said.

"Aside from the mood swings are there any other side efects?" Dan asked looking her over with his medical eye.

"Not really. I think my boobs are getting bigger. Plus there's the sex drive which I think you've noticed." She said blushing.

"Yes I have." Dan said with a big dumb grin as he slid closer to her. They were just getting into some heavy snogging when Hermione cleared her throat from inside the house causing them to separate as she and Harry came out the back door.

"Are you two sure you want us to come back every day? It seems like you two could use the space?" Hermione said with a smirk as she walked by the table headed for the barn with Harry following her and the two dogs walking with him.

"We're going to take the horses out and then we have to get going. So be ready in an hour?" Harry asked looking at his watch with a smirk.

"An hour sounds good." Dan said grabbing Emma in his arms and carrying her into the house as she laughed.

The kids took the horses around the trail and spent some time brushing their coats. After an hour they headed into the house and changed into the clothes Harry made for this mission. When they came down the stairs Harry was wearing black jeans and and a white button up shirt and Hermione was in a black skirt and a white blouse. Both of them were wearing black leather dress shoes, oxfords for him and low heeled Mary Janes for her. The shoes were nothing to write home about but what was strange was the fact that they made no sound when they walked. Dan and Emma were waiting for them by the front door and Emma ran through a short checklist of things they needed which made both kids grin.

"Okay then I think we're all set. We decided to take two cars and make a drive of it. Harry you're with Dan in his car along with all the dogs." Emma said as they stepped out of the house. They saw the silver Aston Martin and the silver BMW roadster sitting in the driveway.

On the drive to London both kids got an awkward conversation with both adults trying to impart words of wisdom. For the most part the kids just grind and nodded. When they got to the train station they walked to the platform and said their goodbyes. Emma got weepy and Harry had to try hard to stop the laugh from coming out. Dan was having no such luck and it earned him an elbow to the chest.

"I'll see you guys soon." She said hugging them one more time.

"See you back at the house mum." Harry said with a smile as they saw Neville and his gran walk through the barrier followed closely by Susan and Hannah being escorted by Hannah's mom. The kids joined the group as the parents all gathered around.

"Come on Nev, let's go set up a compartment before someone takes the last one." Harry said walking onto the train with his buddy and dog as the rest of the group said their goodbyes.

The two boys walked to the back of the train and found the last compartment on the right. Harry walked in and with a few waves of his hand the compartment was four times bigger and the benches were now big soft couches. He made the table bigger and opened the window to let the fresh air in. when he turned around he saw Neville was talking to an older kid with black hair down the hall and an awkward looking red headed boy was spying on his work. When he saw Harry looking at him he stood up and turned red around the ears. He fixed a big dumb smile on his face and Harry had to stop himself from facepalming.

"Hi I'm Ron Weasley. And…" That's as far as he got because Harry was on him. He grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and pulled him into the compartment. He locked eyes with Neville and the boy nodded as Harry shut the door and rounded on the red head.

"You will tell me what you are doing." Harry intoned as he waved his hand in front of the boys face.

"I was told to befriend Harry Potter and report on him to the Headmaster." Ron said in a vapid tone.

"Why are you spying on me?" Harry asked.

"Because if I do then the Headmaster will give me gold." Ron said.

"How much?" Harry asked with a smile, he wanted to know how much he was worth to the old man and how cheap you could buy a fool.

"One gold galleon a week." Ron said.

"One galleon!" Harry said indignantly. "You will forget everything you saw in this compartment. You will find a place to sit in the second train car. You will report you couldn't find me on the train. You will stay the hell away from me and my group of friends." Harry intoned and opened the door for him. Ron walked out and drug his trunk out and down the hall. Neville came in with half the group including Hermione.

"Was that Weasley?" She asked with a cold look.

"It was, do you know I'm only worth one stinking galleon a week to spy on me?" Harry said indignantly.

"Well, you're worth more then that. I wouldn't sell you out for less than twenty gallons a week." She said making everyone laugh.

"Well at least I know that someone knows my price." Harry said as the rest of the group came into the compartment with their trunks. Harry shrank them and when everyone was seated Harry locked the compartment door and closed the curtain. "Okay, let's party!" Harry said with a smirk as he pulled a radio and a bag of candy and drinks out of his bag of holding.

"You know, since I've met you yesterday I've had nothing but a good time. Man I like hanging out with you." Dean said grabbing a bottle of coke and a mars bar out of the bag. "All we need now are some board… You two are the best!" He said as Hermione pulled out a wizard chess board, two backgammon sets and a box with four decks of cards.

"Well it's not a pool table and a full bar but it's something. Now who wants to get beat in poker? We're playing for gold, so no cheating." Harry said pulling a hand full of coins out of his pocket and turning them into two big handfuls of gold coins.

"I would love to take you on but I'm afraid I'm out of cash." Dean said with a big grin.

"I'll front you. My Gran let me keep the case of gold coins Harry gave her. I'll front you for the first few games until you can bank roll yourself. Harry plays like garbage and I know his tells." Neville said pulling the briefcase out of his bag of holding and setting it on the table.

"You know my tells?" Harry asked with a cocky smirk.

"Please Harry, you're eye twitches every time you have anything better then a pair." Neville said handing Dean a stack of gold coins "Anyone else want to get in on this action?" Neville asked grabbing a deck of cards and shuffling them like a Vegas dealer.

"Sirius and my father have been really terrible role models for you two." Hermione said setting up the chessboard across from Padma.

"You say terrible, I say important. They taught us to be morally ambiguous." Harry said with a smirk as Neville started dealing the cards. "Hey! Deal it strait! No dealing off the bottom of the deck! You're not Sirius, your hands are not fast enough yet to get away with it." Harry said catching his friend trying to cheat.

"Morally ambiguous." Neville said shrugging as he took back the cards and reshuffled them with a girn.

"You two are crazy. I love it." Dean said laughing.

"Hey bookworm twins, you two want in on this?" Harry asked Michael and Terry who were both talking about a book and sipping sodas.

"What are you playing?" Michael asked looking up.

"Five card draw. Deuces and jokers wild and we play for gold." Harry said.

"We don't have any gold." Terry said.

"Do you have pocket change? Knuts or sickles?" Harry asked.

"We do." Michael said pulling out a small coin bag.

"Then you have gold scoot over and change places with the real twins." Harry said as Susan found radio 1 one the small portable radio. Harry turned their bronze knuts into gold coins and they spent the next hour playing cards. The girls spent time playing board games and chatting. The boys were mostly even when it came to cards. None of them had good poker faces except for Dean who turned out to be a total ringer. Between Harry's twitchy eye, Neville's uncontrollable breathing, Michael's tapping foot and Terry's lip licking Dean ended up with a big stack of gold. They called it quits when the rest of the boys were out.

"How much did you end up with Dean?" Harry asked.

"We'll after I give Neville the 20 coins he gave me to start with I have… 93 gold coins. How much is that worth Harry?" Dean asked putting the coins into a small bag Harry handed him.

"210 pounds a coin, 19,530 pounds." Harry said.

"This bag has almost twenty thousand pounds!" Dean said looking at the bag.

"It's gold Dean. hopefully, by the end of the year you'll reach the arch mage level and you'll be able to make a bag like that when ever you want. But even then, you have to remember, it's just gold. Now, who needs to use the can? Also we should really start thinking about lunch." Harry said standing up and stretching.

The guys walked out of the compartment and headed to to the front of the train car where the bathroom was. The bathroom had three stalls so Harry, Neville, and his dog Blaze went in first. When they came out they were met by a group of older kids in green trimmed robes. There were six in total and they all looked to be about second or third years. Terry, Michael, and Dean were being held by three of the boys and the other three looked ready to attack them. A shorter boy with blond hair stepped around the taller boys with a nasty smirk on his face.

"The famous Harry Potter." The boy said in a high pitched whiny tone.

"You got the name right, what do I call you?" Harry said in a calm tone. When they saw his relaxed stance the rest of his boys relaxed their stances. All except for Neville who looked like he wanted to rip the blond boy limb from limb for touching Terry, Michael, and Dean.

"I'm draco Malfoy, your group put my father in Azkaban and your godfather disowned my mother. And while I can't do anything to them, I can do something to you and your little group of friends." The boy said with a sner.

"And let me guess, my friend's families put members of your families in Azkaban as well?" Harry asked older boys with an understanding tone. He got a few nods and cold stars from the older boys.

"Okay, this can go one of two ways, you can either release my friends and walk away, or you can stand with this fool and you will be humiliated. The choice is yours, you have five seconds to make up your minds." Harry said in the same calm tone he used for this whole exchange. Harry looked at the older boys and they held fast but most of them looked unsure and panicked now.

"Five, four, three, two, one. Wow, what a shame. I'm going to need you six to release my friends, stripp off your clothes down to your skivvies and walk to the first compartment singing…. Let's go with Good King Wenceslas." Harry said waving his right hand. The bigger boys backed up from the three boys and started stripping off their robes.

"WHat are you doing!" Draco yelled turning red with anger. His eyes turned to Harry who was watching and smirking. "You're going to pay for this!" Draco said pulling his wand and firing a the leg locker curse.

Harry raised his hand and took the spell into the palm of his hand. The spell had no effect. He fired an itching spell followed by a boil hex and ended with a static shocker jinkx. Harry blocked all of them with his hand and laughed. He stopped laughing when Draco fired a overpowered wide arcing cutting curse at Harry and his friends. Harry had to block that one with a big shield and the smile fell off his face. It was replaced by a cold look and Harry raised his hand lifting Draco off his feet and pulling him closer. He took the wand from Draco's hand and tossed it to Neville who promptly snapped it in half. Harry waved at the window and it opened. He floated Draco out of the window and the boy started to scream. He silenced him with a wave of his left hand. Draco could do nothing but panic as he flew through the air next to the train flying across the English countryside at eighty miles an hour. Harry stepped close to the window and turned Draco to face him.

"I could drop you right now. Let you hit the ground going this fast. The fall would probably kill you. Or I could fling you into one of these trees and make sure you die. I want you to think about that fact. I want you to understand that bit of information. Then I want you to think about this. No one would know I did it, and if they found out? No one would throw The Boy Who Lived in jail over a bout of accidental magic. Not after the son of a Death Eater tried to kill him and his friends. You see Draco, you think you're a tough guy. You think you're powerful. But in the grand scheme of life you're an ant compared to me. Now ants can hide and live, or they can get stepped on and die. You fuck with me or my friends and I'll stomp the shit out of you. Consider yourself lucky. If you would have hurt one of us with that spell I would have thrown you already. For now I'm going to let you live. I'd spread the word to any of your other friends. They fuck with me and I'll kill them. Now get back in here." Harry said waving his hand and launching Draco back into the train and slamming him into the wall next to the bathroom door. Draco rolled over onto his side and saw the older boys finish stripping off their socks. As one they started singing and they walked through the connecting doors to get to the next train car. Draco scrambled to his feet and ran after them.

"The bathroom is free boys, have at it. I was thinking about chicken sandwiches for lunch. What do you think?" Harry asked his group of friends who were too shocked to answer him at first. Neville was the first one to break the tension.

"That sounds good. Maybe we can do some fish and chips to go with it." Neville said with a smile.

"I'll go set it up and go check on the girls." Harry said patting Neville on the back as he walked past him. When he was out of earshot Neville rounded on the other boys.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you three. Harry just saved your life and you just stood there acting strange." Neville said.

"Neville he just threatened to kill that boy!" Michael said in a hushed yell.

"But he didn't did he? No he put the fear of god in that little shit and he won't come bothering us ever again. That was a cutting curse. It would have killed us if Harry hadn't have stopped it. If that's what he was willing to throw at us here and now on a train can you imagine what he would have done to us in the halls of the school. What if he caught up to the twins late one night? Or Susan and Hannah? Or you three for that matter. One spell like a blasting hex to the back is enough to kill. Instead Harry made him shit his pants. Now go take a piss and let's get back to the compartment. And if you three treat Harry any different I'll kick your ass. Harry's our Brother. We stand by our Brother." Neville said crossing his arms.

"You're right Nev. I feel like crap. Come on." Dean said dragging the other two into the bathroom.

"That was a touching speech." Harry said dropping his hood and becoming visible again.

"It's the truth. Thanks Harry for watching out for us." Neville said turning to his best friend and pulling him into a hug.

"I wouldn't have done it you know." Harry said softly.

"I know that. You're a good man Harry. Too good to go around killing kids. Now go back and start lunch. I'm hungry." Neville said with a smirk.

"You got it, Brother." Harry said heading down the hallway back to the compartment at the back of the car.

"You're a good friend Nev." Hermione said as she dropped her hood on her invisibility robe and hugged him from behind.

"Harry's going to be the next Merlin, and he's going to change the world. But he can't do it on his own. We all have a part to play. You keep him organized and on track. It's my job to watch his back and keep an eye on the group. I trust all of the people we added to the group, but with power comes temptation. The second I see one of these guys start to abuse their powers I'm going to stop it." Neville said in a calm tone but there was a hard edge to his voice.

"And that's why we love you Neville. You always have our back." She said hugging him again before she vanished as the guys came out of the bathroom looking guilty.

"Drop the pitiful looks boys, you're not in trouble. Now come on, it's lunch time." Neville said with a smile. When they got back to the compartment Harry was just finishing making a huge basket of chips to got with the serving platters of chicken and bacon club sandwiches and fried fish fillets.

"What took so long guys? You almost took longer then the girls." Harry said laughing.

"Hey that's is not cool Harry. There was a line for the girl's loo." Hermione said leading the girls through the door.

"And Just three stalls in the bathroom." Susan said.

"Well, we ran into a group of Death eater kids. They tried to beat us up. Harry mind tricked them into stripping to their skivvies and walking to the front of the train as they sang." Neville said laughing as he made a plate of fish and chips and covered it in malted vinegar.

"Really? That happened fast. I was expecting it to happen when we got to the school." Hermione said looking mildly shocked to play along.

"Well they won't be messing with us anymore. Not after what Harry made them do." Dean said laughing as he patted Harry on the back.

As Dean said that Hermione locked eyes with Harry and they both nodded. As much as they hoped that was the end of the would be bullies attempts they both knew it was not. They would have to stick together and they would have to start teaching the group combat awareness first. Spells and potions would have to wait.

The group spent the rest of the trip to the castle playing games, listening to the radio, and munching on snacks as only a group of growing kids could. The two dogs sat with the group and loved having so many people pet, stretch, and snuggle with them. When they started getting closer to the castle the prefects came through the train and told them to get changed into their robes. The guys left the compartment so the girls could change and then they switched. When the group was all back in the compartment Harry called for silence.

"Okay guys, we have to let you in on the plan." Harry said standing with Hermione by the compartment door.

"Tonight we are going to be sorted into one of four houses. The sorting is done by a magical hat. To keep the group together and make it easier for us to work and keep up our advanced schedule we have to all be sorted into one house. To accomplish this sorting Harry and I are going to kidnap the sorting hat and have a very enlightening talk with it." Hermione said.

"To do this we are going to use two things. The time turner and these robes. They look like normally school robes but when you pull the hood up," Harry said flipping up his hood and vanishing. "You become invisible." he finished as he dropped his hood.

"THat's awesome!" Dean half yelled with excitement.

"It is. But in order to pull this off we need to walk into the school surrounded by the group, filp up our hoods, vanish from sight, and sneak away. By the time the group gets to the main hall we'll be back and we need the cover of the group to reappear without drawing attention to ourselves. For you guys we will vanish and walk away and a few seconds later we'll bump past you guys to get back into the center of the group. What we need you guys to do is not acknowledge us if we bump into one of you guys." Hermione said.

"What we need to do is practice this a few times before we do it for real. Can you all stand up, I'm going to shrink the seats and table back to normal to give us some space to practice." Harry said.

When the train stopped at Hogsmeade station the students got out and they were met by a giant man with a lantern. He lead them to the boats and they split up with Michael and Terry sharing a boat with the twins, Hermione and her dog Shadow sharing a boat with Sally, Susan and Hannah, and Harry and his dog Blaze, Dean, and Neville in the last boat. All of the kids shared a look of wonderment when they saw the castle. When they hit the shore and got out of the boat they were lead to a big set of door where Minerva was waiting.

"The first years Professor Mcgonagall." Hagrid the half giant said.

"Thank you Hagrid. Come along children." She said in a prim tone as she lead them into the castle.

As they crossed the main doors Harry and Hermione flipped up their hoods and vanished. Their dogs and the rest of the group moved across the hall to a small room off the main hall across from the Great Hall doors. As they crossed into the room Neville was pushed aside a bit and Harry and Hermione were once again standing in the middle of the group with grins on their faces.

Meanwhile Harry took Hermione's hand and lead her down a side hall that ran the length of the great hall to a door that lead to the teacher's wing at a good jog. The door was normally password locked but Minerva left it open for them. They slipped through the door and into a long hallway lined with doors. Each door had a nameplate. In the middle of the hall was a bigger door and sitting in front of the door was a stoll with an old witch's hat on it. Harry let go of her hand and he saw a black bag hanging in mid air. The bag floated closer to the hat and that was Harry's cue. With practiced speed Harry snatched the hat off the stool and shoved it into the bag before the hat could even make a sound. Once it was in the bag it's yells couldn't penetrate the soundproof charms on the bag. They could feel themselves in the hall as they passed each other. They kept heading down the hall with the struggling hat in the bag at the end of the hall was a broom closet. They opened the closet door and saw Hermione's trunk sitting there open. She went down first and Harry tossed her the bag and followed her down as he closed the lid. They rushed through the door to the shed and turned back time 48 hours. They dropped their hoods and took a deep breath. Harry looked at his watch, from the time they pulled up their hoods to the time they dropped them it took 18 seconds. Hermione opened the bag.

"...Demand that you unhand me this instance!" The hat shouted.

"Oh shut your trap." Harry said grabbing the hat out of the bag. He opened the hat box and dropped the hax in the hat box. He shut the lid and the box flashed.

"Hey! What was that!?" The hat yelled. Harry opened the box and pulled the hat out and set it on the table. He closed the lid and the box flashed again. This time he pulled out a copy of the sorting hat. "WHat is that!?" THe hat yelled looking shocked and panicked. The new hat turned to Harry and bowed.

"What are my orders, master?" The new hat asked.

"You will take the place of the sorting hat and you will sort the students as we see fit. You will hold this position until you are relieved of duty." Harry said.

"Yes master." The hat said bowing again.

"Thank you, we don't want to do it this way but it's the only way to insure our continued work at the school. We really don't want to kidnap the sorting hat but from everything we heard from Minerva the hat can be a bit certankerus and we really don't have the time and patients to talk him into playing ball. This is easier, even though it's unethical. It's not what we want to do but?" Harry said shrugging.

"Well have you tried asking me?" The real Hat asked.

"No, but Minerva told us…" Harry started to say.

"She told you her opinions. What I just witnessed was Maker magic. It's rare, 1 in a 100,000 wizards are born on the arch mage scale. Only 1 in a 1,000 arch mages are makers. It's a once in a generation gift and you have it. You're powerful too. Very powerful. Put me on your head, and let me see what we're working with here. You could have saved us all a trip if you just would have told me you're a maker. A Gryffindor as well. I can feel my maker's power in your magic. I'm guessing by the look of you you're a Potter, you're a descendant of Godric who was a descendent of Merlin. I was made by the house of Gryffindor, I am loyal to the house of Gryffindor. Now put me on your head." The hat said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"So I can see what you have planned. If it's noble and good then I'll, as you stated, play ball. Your bloodline has never been happy with the way things work, they always have to change things. Merlin had to unify the kingdoms and make one house under which magicals could live without persecution. It cost him his life because he trusted the wrong people. Godric had to teach weak magic users how to harness their power. Again he trusted the wrong people. You're great great grandfather William wasn't happy with just the minister running the magical government in the UK so he made the Wizengamot. He was stabbed in the back by a friend who wanted to be the head of the Governing body. Your great grandfather burned through most of his his fortune helping the muggles fight the Nazis and Grindelwald when every other magical house hid under their wards as the war raged on around them. He died in the London bombings. Both your grandfather and father died fighting Voldemort. So young Arch Mage with the blood of your forefathers, what are you going to die trying to do?" The hat asked with a sigh like it was hurting his head to deal with the foolish bloodline that made him. It was a tone that put a smile on Harry's face.

Harry put the hat on and took of his watch so the hat could access his mind. After looking at his thoughts for a few minutes the hat hummed.

"You can take me off now. Well atleast you're not thinking about too many revolutionary things. You might live long enough to see the natural end of your days. You'd be the first in the blood line to make it." The hat said with a sigh.

"So the Merlin blood line is that bad?" Harry asked in a tone that was an odd mix of Pride and sadness.

"Fools the lot of you!" The hat yelled out as he chuckled sadly.

"So you'll help us?" Hermione asked.

"I will if I get a look inside your head. The real Merlin curse is trusting the wrong people. I want to see what's inside your head." The hat said eyeing Hermione with an untrusting look.

"I understand. You have nothing to worry about and neither does Harry." Hermione said taking off her locket and watch and set the hat on her head. The hat was silent for a few minutes.

"No you're right, he has nothing to fear from you and I must say I've never been happier for a Potter in the last hundred years. You are even more untrusting and cautious than he is. Good. build a core of people you trust explicitly. Everyone else you keep at arm's length. I'll sort anyone you want me to. In fact hold me over that couch over there." The hat said.

Harry picked up the hat as gently as he could and walked over to the couch. As soon as he held the hat over the couch things started falling out of the hat starting with a gold and jewel encrusted sword. A wood jewelry box followed it along with four big leather bound books, and a pair of long daggers. Harry and Hermione stood there looking at the pile of things on the couch with shocked looks on their faces.

"You're going to have to shake me, something is still stuck." The hat said sounding frustrated.

"Okay, tell me if I go too hard." Harry said before shaking the hat. As soon as he started going a 6 foot long gold staff with a dragon head on top holding a baseball sized red ruby in it's mouth fell out followed by a gold breastplate and finally a wood box that looked like a small trunk with a lock on the front that looked like a gold dragon fell out. "Wow you had a lot of stuff hidden inside of you." Harry said looking at all the stuff on the couch.

"It's my duty to store House heirlooms. These all belong to you now as the next Arch Mage in the family line. When you pass from this life these items and any other items you link to me will vanish from where you have them and come back to me so I can pass them on to the next Arch Mage of the house." The said proudly.

"It's a good idea. Now if you would please explain what this stuff is that would be great." Harry said setting the hat down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Certainly, although I would expect most of this is self explanatory. The Staff is called Dragon fire and it was Merlin's staff. You will be the first in the line of Potter powerful enough to use it." The hat said as Harry picked up the staff and the ruby glowed. He felt a rush of power shot through his body. It was a feeling he felt before. The day he took the overpowered energy potion.

"I can feel the power in this staff." Harry said looking at the gemstone.

"I bet you can, Godric charged the gem before he was killed. You see the staff lets you store power by sucking in ambient magic from the air, and when you need it all you have to do is channel a very small bit of power through the staff and you can perform great feats of magic. Godric made every stone that the castle is built from. It took his just two months to make and place every stone. then again the castle was built on a magical ley line so the staff can recharge very fast there." The hat said with a smirk.

"Unreal." Harry said passing the staff to Hermione who touched it and was shocked. "Oh! Are you okay?" Harry asked holding her hand.

"I'm fine. It just felt like a good static shock." She said as Harry ran his thumb over her hand.

"I forgot to mention this but the Staff, the daggers and the house rig are charmed so only the bloodline can touch them." The hat said.

"Good to know." Harry said setting the staff off to the side. "What's special about the daggers?" Harry asked grabbing the two long thin daggers in shiny black leather sheaths. He pulled one of the daggers out exposing the shiny silver 14 inch long single edged blades. He tested the weight and and the handling of the blade and found it to be perfectly balanced for fighting. The handle was made of some kind of bone and although there were no gemstones or fancy etchings on the blade he knew he was holding a piece of history.

"Those were forged by Godrics' hands along with the sword and the breastplate. You see back during the late years of the 10th century the land that the castle sit on was all a magical forest. Humans were afraid to go in and the animals themselves were fearful of going too deep into the woods. The centaurs lived on the land that is now Hogsmeade. They protected the other animals of the forest from the dark creatures deep within. Werewolves were not the nice people you know now. Back then they were mindless beasts for all time except on the night of the full moon. They held the patch of woods by the east bank of the lake. Hags and harpies held the other side of the lake. The land where the castle sits was home to a big nest of Basilisks. And just to add to the list of living nightmares in the woods an ancient black dragon lived in the mountains to the east. Everyone saw the land as cursed but Godric saw what the land was. A power node. A well of pure magical energy. He would take the land and build his seat of power and within those walls he would teach weak magicals how to channel their power. He made a deal with the centaurs to grant passage to him, his three powerful Archmage friends and his army of magical warriors. Godric lead an army of a thousand into the forbidden forest. Godric and his three friends were the only ones that came out the other side two weeks later and they were promptly met by the huge black dragon. Godric took one look at the huge dragon and pulled the staff from his back and held it aloft. He channeled every bit of magic he had left into a blasting curse that ripped the dragon in half. Godric collapsed and when he woke up he found his friends clearing the trees to build the foundation of the castle. Rowena Ravenclaw had bound the dragon's heart to a slab of bedrock and used it to power the wards. To this day the wards of the school run off the power channeled through the massive dragon's heart in the bedrock of the castle. The weapons and armor were what he wore when he stepped into the forbidden forest that day. The other three founders had similar weapons and armor." The hat said in a reminiscent tone.

"Wow, these are truly the tools that made wizarding history in this country. We're going to have to find a way to display these. That story and many more like it deserve to be told." Harry said.

"The breastplate and the daggers yes, but you should keep the sword with you at all times. It's very powerful and unlike the daggers anyone can pick up that sword and wield it's power." The hat said as a warning.

"Understood. I will keep the staff with me at all times too. Now what's in the box?" Harry asked picking up the locked box.

"Merlin's dragon." The hat said with a smirk.

"Say what now?" Harry asked setting the box down very slowly.

"According to his journal which is the black leather bound book on the top of the pile. Merlin had a pet dragon named Ignis. He hatched it from an egg and as it grew he tamed it with calming magic. The dragon acted like a pet hound and not a fire breathing killing machine. Later when his big pet got too big to keep indoors he made a collar for it to shrink it back down to the size of a hatchling so it could stay with him. Ignis was his faithful companion for decades. When the war came and Morgana turned on him Merlin feared his days were numbered. Not trusting anyone but an Archmage to keep his pet safe he spent a full charge of his staff to make a gem that stored Ignis in a timeless slumber. He put the gem in his magically sealed trunk and used the same spell that was used on me to vanish the rest of his most prized possessions back to the trunk at the time of his death. He sent the trunk and six chests full of gold and jewels along with his three year old son renamed Author Gryffindor away with his trusted servants on a ship to Rome. Godric was the first of the bloodline to be able to open the box and release the dragon from the stone but his fear of dragons stopped him. After he made me I kept pestering him to open the box but as brave as he was his fear of dragons was well founded. He had killed a few of them in his day and he locked the box away inside of me as soon as he could. He vowed to never open the box unless he had to. He was not much for making small talk with a dragon. Now the question is young Potter, are you too afraid to open the box and bond with the Dragon?" The hat asked with a clear smirk in his voice.

"I have the stones to open the box but I refuse to do it inside this small room. We'll open the box in two days. For now we'll set it aside." Harry said picking up the box again. This time he studied and saw the word Ignis carved into the lid under a carving of a dragon with it's wings outstretched.

"What in here?" Hermione asked picking up the jewelry box.

"That box holds the bloodline's house rings." The hat said as she opened the box. "Remember! Don't touch the Gryffindor House ring." The hat warned as she reached out to touch the six rings in the box. "It's charmed so only Harry can touch it. But once it's on his hand you can touch it. Harry, the large gold ring with the Gryffindor house crest belongs on your finger. With that ring you control the castle. It's yours after all. There's no vaults of gold or mansions or anything like that but the castle and the land it sits on belongs to you. It's your responsibility like the two Makers before you to build the family back up to what it once was. Hopefully there will be more left of a legacy then was left to you by the time the next Maker comes around. Godric was born into a penniless family that worked as sell swords. You grew up with just a trust vault after Godric made the family the wealthiest house in the world. Try to leave a good legacy Harry your bloodline loves to burn through it tilting at windmills." The hat said laughing.

Harry took the case and grabbed the big gold ring with the carved rampant lion torso and head the same as the Hogwarts house crest. The lion had a round cut ruby for it's eye and the rind glowed as soon as he slipped it on his right middle finger next to his Potter house ring. The ring shrank and gave off a pulse. In the castle Dumbledore stopped eating his dinner as he felt the wards pulse and surge to life like he never felt them before. He stood up and went to his window to see if anyone was attacking the ward line but no one was.

"Fawkes, Flash me to the Ward chamber!" He called to his phoenix, Fawkes rolled his eyes, flashed to his shoulder, and tried to flash to the chamber deep under the castle but nothing happened. "What's wrong?" He asked looking panicked now. If something happened to the castle under his watch then what little reputation he still had left would be gone. The bird barked a few angry retorts in a very un-Phoenix like way before he flashed back to his perch. "What do you mean the wards stopped you!?" Fawkes called out a few more bitter sounding retorts before going back to his dinner of raw beef strips marinated in firewhiskey and HP sauce.

"We have to set the castle on alert!" Albus said slamming the red gem on the side of his desk, a siren sounded through the castle for a few seconds before the gem glowed, flashed, and cracked in half. As soon as the gem broke he felt his ward monitoring charm drop and he lost control of the wards. Outside his window the wards flashed and glowed red and gold. He saw the herd of centaurs come running to edge of the ward line as Severus and Pomona rushed out of the castle followed by Filius. "Fawkes flash me to the ward line!" He called out as the panic of his situation hit him. He was losing the last bit of control he had left. The bird rolled his eyes again, flashed to his shoulder and flashed him to the ward line in front of the forest before promptly flashing back to his perch.

"Headmaster! I see you found a way to power up the old wards of the castle. It's about time you got them working again. It's been a few hundred years since they were last powered up. You must have found a true heir to the castle." The Centaur elder said in a wise tone but there was a smirk that set into his jawline as he spoke. But Albus knew what he was saying. The bloodline was coming back to the castle. But who? The last recorded Gryffindor was killed in the 1300s. Since then the line has sat dormant. He would have to start looking for the heir. But that would have to wait, for now he needed to get ready for the welcoming feast in two nights. He was still waiting for his DADA teacher to come back from his sabbatical. If he wasn't here for the opening feast then he would have to answer to the board of governors.

"Yes, it's the funniest thing, I was checking the wards and they just powered up." Albus said with a big smile.

"I'm sure, are the other half of the castle guardians going to come back as well?" the elder asked.

"Other half?" Albus asked.

"Yes, the dragon and the king serpent. We have not seen the dragon before, Godric told my forefathers that he had one, but no one has seen it, we have seen the king serpent before. Every few years the trap doors open and small prey make their way into it's den but we have not seen the king in some time. The last time he roamed the forest was a long time ago, your were a much younger man and I was many moons younger." The elder said with a nostalgic glance at the moon.

"I'm not sure, I'll have to look into it. What's the other half of the guardians?" Albus asked. It was rare to get so many words out of the elder and he wanted to take full advantage of his chattiness.

"The whomping willow and the sea beast in the lake. They protect all of the holes in the wards. Now we must go and prepare for the heir's return." The elder said waving the herd back into the woods.

"Albus! What's going on?" Filius called out to him as the group walked towards him. Albus rolled his eyes before putting on a big fake grin.

"I found a way to activate the old wards. It would seem that the Heir to Godric Gryffindor has accepted his title. We need to look into this but for now we must continue our preparations for the start of term." He said in a cheery voice.

"Yes, I still have to finish my seventh year lesson plans." The head of Ravenclaw said with a nod as he turned back to the castle.

"Filius, where is Minerva?" He asked looking at three of his four heads of house.

"She left the castle before lunch. I'm not sure where she went?" The short professor said with a shrug.

"That's what I was afraid of." Albus muttered as the smile fell off his face.

Back in the shed Harry smiled softly as he felt a warm feeling in his chest. The hat took one look a his face and the same smile spread across his face too.

"You can feel the wards can't you?" the hat asked.

"I can, it's a really pleasant feeling in my chest and head." Harry said.

"Good. as you get to know the wards they should get stronger. Now on to the other rings in the case. The set of wedding bands act as a linked set of portkeys and they also monitor the other person's health. The ruby ring set acts as shield charm rings. Something I see you two figured out how to make. Lastly the ring with the red ruby dragon is Merlin's spell ring. It act like the staff but it doesn't hold magic it lets you channel it easier. The four books are journals written by Merlin and Godric. Aside from that you have everything." The hat said.

"This is all awesome and very useful stuff. We would love to spend the next two days playing with it all but we need to get to work. We turned back time 48 hours so you're kind of stuck with us um… Mr. Hat?" Harry said trying the name.

"My Name is Phillip." The hat said with a grin.

"How about Phil?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"If you must." The hat said rolling his eyes.

"Cool, well we're going to eat some dinner and then we'll work on a trunk or two tonight before calling it a night. You are welcome to stay with us or we can set you on the desk and you can rest." Harry asked.

"Well, if I stay with you I can tell you tales of Godric's adventures." The hat said.

"Now that sounds good to me!" Harry said picking up the hat and setting it on his head as they walked into the kitchen.

That night they worked on Dean's trunk and just finished the door as they started yawning. Ever since they started pulling 48 hour turns everyday Harry expanded the shed to have two bedrooms with full bathroom. They put the finished trunk off to the side and headed off to bed. They slept in late on sunday because they didn't need to get up to take the dogs out. They spent the day working on Terry and Michael's trunk before eating a late lunch and started on Sally-anne's trunk and started Padma's trunk but had to stop for dinner. after they finished her trunk they took a break and sat on the couch as Phil told them tales of Godric's adventures. after a few hours of relaxing in the study they were about to head off to bed when Harry remembered the note he was supposed to leave for himself. He scribbled a short note on a scrap sheet of paper and took the door in the shed to his trunk and set the note on the bed. He ran back to the trunk and shut the lid as the bedroom door opened. He slid down the ladder and doored back to the shed. The next morning they got up and got dressed in the same clothes they wore when they turned back time after a cleaning charm. They had breakfast before knocking out Parvati's trunk. At noon they took a break and headed out of the shed. Harry took the hat and the box with the dragon gem with him.

"You're really going to open that box Harry?" Hermione asked when she saw the box in his hand.

"Are you kidding? It's a dragon. Of course I'm going to open the box." Harry said as they took seats at one of the small tables Harry made the day before for the party and summoned two bottles of Rootbeer and two frosty glasses. After pouring the the two drinks Harry studied the box.

"Would you like to know how to open the box?" Phil asked from his place on Hermione's head.

"No need, it's maker magic." Harry said placing his hand on the lock and scanned the lock. He then held out his hand and made the key to fit the lock. It was an odd shaped key but when Harry stuck it in the small hole and turned it the lock popped open with a click. He opened the lid and saw a rough cut ruby the size of a golfball on a gold chain and a note on parchment. He picked up the note and tried to read it but it was in old english.

"Hermione can you see if you can make heads or tails of this?" He asked handing her the note.

"Sure let's see… um, it looks like the gem acts as the doorway to a pocket dimension where time is at a stand still. It says to let Ignis out all you have to do is put on the chain and hold the gem out in front of you and say 'Ignis out'. It works the same way to put him back in, you just have to hold it out and say 'Ignis in'. It also says the collar he wears can control his size and it works by commanding him to grow or shrink." She said handing him the note back.

"Seems straight forwards. Let's see." Harry said slipping the chain on over his head and holding the gem out he intoned, "Ignis out!" the gem flashed and a one and a half foot tall red and black dragon with a two foot wingspan was sitting on the table in front him looking at Harry with confusion in his red eyes. The Dragon looked between Harry and the gem in his hand before going back to Harry with an expectant look on his small face.

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter, the last of the Merlin line. And this is Hermione Granger, she's my friend. It's the year 1991 and you've been in this gen for a long time." Harry said. Ignis looked at him with a sad look before nodding and walking up to Harry to get a better look at him. "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm also sorry you were kept in the gem for so long." Harry said feeling bad for the little guy. Ignis nodded before bowing his head in a formal way. "It's an honor to meet you as well." Harry said smiling at the little red dragon. "You must be hungry. What do you eat?" Harry asked. Ignis locked eyes with Harry and he projected the information into his head.

"Wow that's strange." Harry said petting the small dragon as he Made a metal plate of raw beef cut into cubes and a metal cup. He summoned the scotch from the garage and poured a few ounces into the cup. "There you go, now you tell me if you want anything else." Harry said petting the dragon down his back as he turned to the plate and blasted it with a small jet of fire. It was like a blowtorch and Harry had to sit back to avoid losing an eyebrow. After he cooked everything to a crisp Ignis attacked his food with the veracity of a very hungry man. He cleared his plate in a minute and when he was done slurping the last of his drink he let out a belch that smelled of burnt meat and lighter fluid.

"Good?" Harry asked and Ignis nodded as his let out a contented sigh. He laid down on the table with his head on his arms and his wings covering him and they heard small snores coming from him.

"That was the cutest thing I've ever seen." Hermione said with a big smile.

"He is a very beautiful color. I like the red with the black wings and underbelly. Did you feel the heat coming off his little fire breath? And look at these tail spikes. He must be terrifying when he's bigger." Harry said looking at the small sharp spikes at the end of his long tail.

"I wonder what kind of dragon he is?" Hermione asked.

"He's a mix of half far east Fireball on his father's side, and continental Horntail and Mystical black drake on his mother's side. Merlin bread him for intelligence, firepower, combat armor, and magical abilities." Phil said.

"How interesting." Hermione said as Her parents came through the back door Emme saw them and ran over to pull Hermione into a big hug. She had red puffy eyes and Dan rolled his eyes as he followed her over at a slower pace.

"I'm glad you two are here. I didn't get nearly enough time to say my goodbyes at the station." Emma said pulling Harry into the group hug.

"Em you have to let up a bit. Hey kids, how was the train ride?" He asked as he took a seat at the table, that's when he saw Ignis and stopped in his tracks. "What is that?" He asked bumping the table as he backed up. Ignis's head shot up and he locked eyes with Dan for disturbing his rest.

"Ignis, this is Dan and Emma Granger. They're Hermione's Parents. Now be nice and Dan I think you owe him a small apology for disturbing his rest." Harry said.

"Absolutely, sorry for bumping the table." Dan said without missing a beat as Maggie looked at the red dragon. She sized him up and then licked his face much to Ignis's dismay.

"That's Maggie and this is Snow." Harry said introducing the dogs. "Guys meet Ignis, he's my new friend. He's a dragon." Harry said holding out his arm for Ignis who crawled up to his shoulder and perched himself on Harry's right shoulder and went back to sleep.

"Harry, where did you get a dragon?" Emma asked looking shocked.

"That's kind of a long story that involves Phil here. Why don't I make us a platter of sandwiches and we'll tell you all about it." Harry said waving a plate of sandwiches onto the table.

After lunch they all headed into the shed and the elder Grangers watched the kids work on making Bags of holding for their friends as they talked to the sorting hat. At seven they packed everything up and Harry put Ignis back into the gem. They put on their robes and headed through the door to Hermione's trunk. They came out into the broom closet and waited ten minutes for their other selves to come through the door at the other end of the hall and snatch the hat. They felt the other pair of them rush past and head down the trunk Harry waited a few seconds before shrinking the trunk and handing it to Hermione. They set the hat back on the stool and booked it back to the main hall. They were the last one's through the door to the room across the hall from the Great Hall. They bumped past Neville and he closed ranks around them as they dropped their hoods and became visible again.

"How did it go?" He asked under his breath.

"Good, we're all set." Harry said reaching out to pat Blaze on the head.

They were lead into the Great Hall and the sorting went by fast. It was amazing how quick the sorting ran when half the students houses were picked for them. The group was sorted into Gryffindor, Ron went to Slytherin. And just because he messed with them Draco went to Hufflepuff. The group sat together at the table and Harry made plates for the group to keep up their diet plan. They met Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater the fifth year prefects that were in charge of the first years. Harry thought for a second that he would have to mind trick Percy but the second the studies and prim Percy talked he knew he would be okay. Especially when Terry and Michael started to talk to Percy and Penny about potions. The boy was practically glowing. The twins on the other hand looked shifty. They came down the table and tried to boot Neville and Hermione from Harry's sides so they could sit next to him but they got two cold glars. and Harry's cold eyes locked on them stopping them in their tracks.

"Can we help you gentlemen?" Harry asked waving the twins to sit next to Susan on the other side of the table. Susan for her part slid over next to Hannah without having to be told to.

"Yes, we wanted to introduce ourselves" One twin said.

"I'm Gred"

"I'm Forge."

"Together we are master pranksters."

"And two of the most handsome faces in the school." One said as they both made silly faces at the same time.

"We wanted to introduce you to the house."

"It's an honor to meet you Mr. Potter." They said as they tipped imaginary caps to him.

"It's good to meet you." Harry said shaking both of their hands by crossing his arms and presenting opposite hands to each of them which made them grin. "These are my two best friends, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger." Harry said.

"Good to meet you." They both said offering crossed arms to shake both Neville and Hermione's hands at the same time. While they were doing that Harry did a light scan of their surface thoughts. What he found made him grin. These two would be fun to hang out with. They didn't care for their mother's lack of fun, the rules, the old man, or anything that was stopping them from having fun. And fun seemed to surround them. They would be a good way to get an introduction to the rest of the upperclassmen.

"Likewise boys, you'll find that this group tends to take our work very seriously," Harry said watching their faces and shoulders sink. "But, we take are playtime even more seriously. You boys play quidditch?" Harry asked knowing full well they were on the house team.

"We're the house team's beaters." Fred said puffing out his chest.

"We're the best there ever was at it." George said.

"We usually don't play with beaters but we do play a mean game of five on five hoops. Really we just love the speed. We all have Nimbus 2000s." Harry said.

"Really?" Fred asked looking to his brother.

"Have you ever played Seeker?" George asked.

"Not really, I've played with a golden snitch before." Harry said.

"He's being modest, Harry has 20/10 vision and no fear. The reason we don't play with a seeker is because Harry's too good and he always wins." Hermione said figuring out the play.

"Guilty." Harry said smirking.

"Right, George, go get Oliver. He'll want to jump on this as fast as possible." Fred said and his twin practically vanished from the seat he was sitting in he moved so fast.

"Oliver?" Harry asked prompting Fred to think about the captain of the house team and by doing so he practically projected the information into Harry's head.

"Oliver is the Captain of the House team and we're looking for a Seeker." Fred filled him in needlessly as a taller boy came bounding around the end of the table to sit next to Fred.

"So, George here tells me we have our Seeker." Oliver said with a smile as he looked at the confident tall boy sitting across from him.

"We do, Oliver Wood meet Harry Potter." Fred said.

"Good to meet you." Harry said sticking out his hand showing off the Gryffindor and Potter Head of House rings. Oliver was about to grab his hand when he stopped in his tracks.

"Is that the… you're, um" Oliver said trying to process the information.

"A descendant of Godric Gryffindor? Yes I am. The last one I'm afraid. I have two great houses I have to build up." Harry said with a sad shrug.

"Did Professor Mcgonagall see that ring?" Oliver asked.

"No, but it won't be too much of a shock for aunt Minerva." Harry said before Hermione hit him in the shoulder.

"Professor Mcgonagall Harry, you have to use her title in school." Hermione said.

"Right, sorry. I'm used to aunt Minerva being at the house over the summer." Harry said suppressing the smirk that wanted to split his face as the three boys looked shocked.

"You know the professor?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, she was a friend of my parents and she took the whole group under her wing, hey Oliver, do you have a reserve house team because the whole group plays pretty good." Harry said catching everyone's attention.

"All of you? Do all of you have Nimbus 2000s?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, but some of us are more practiced than the others." Neville said.

"Still all of you can play and you have top of the line brooms. There are eleven of you, that's enough to field a full practice team with reserves." Oliver said with a scary look in his eyes.

"I have to admit we've never really played with bludgers. We usually just play chasers and keepers with smaller rings. It's more fair that way and it builds teamwork. That being said I'd put myself, Hermione, and Neville against any three chasers you have. Susan over there is a dominant force in front of the rings. The rest are good but with some practice they can be just as dominant." Harry said.

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you guys on brooms. We'll set aside some time this weekend to see how you handle yourselves. We need a Seeker, but I've always been a fan of trying out for your position every year to make sure you really deserve your spot on the team. We'll hold a full team tryout in two weeks. But this weekend I would really like to see you guys play a pick up game." Oliver said.

"I'm sure the group would love to, it sound's like fun…" Harry trailed off as a feeling of cold rushed through him. Something wasn't right and he could feel it.

"Hey Harry, you alright you just stopped talking mid sentence?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, um," Harry forced out a burp. "Ops, excuse me, all the soda and candy on the train just caught up to my dinner. Speaking of, I have a trunk load of contraband and I can get more anytime I want so house team win parties are on me if I make the team or not." Harry said changing the subject as his mind analyzed the cold feelings he was sensing.

"A trunk you say?" Fred asked with a big grin.

"Yes and I'm more then willing to share but I wouldn't go poking around my trunk. I made that trunk and the curse on that trunk would do some very horrible things to you. I have a lot of things in there." Harry said making a few Mars bars under the table. "But these are just a taste of what I can get." Harry said passing the candy bars across the table.

"You know Harry, I have a feeling you're going to be a great fit in our house." Fred said.

"Yes, a very good fit." George agreed.

After dinner they headed up to Gryffindor tower. As soon as she could Hermione got Harry off to a dark corner of the common room.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, I feel this cold darkness in my belly, I think it's the wards. I'm not sure. I have to meditate on it. I think we should do a normal day tomorrow and if this feeling persists then we'll spend our turned day tracking down the source of this evil. If it's in the castle then hopefully the wards will give me a fixed position on it. We'll get our cloaks and sabers and track it. If we find it we'll call in Amelia and the Aurors to keep it above board." Harry said.

"Okay. Try to get a good night's sleep. Maybe the power of the castle's wards will give you a better hint than a dark feeling." She said touching his arm.

"Yeah, before I get to sleep tonight I'm going to try to isolate the feeling. It could be anything. It could literally be the anger we saw in the old man and his dark greasy boy's eyes. Or it could be a dark creature in the castle. There are how many room full of unused desks and dust. There's probably a closet full of doxies or buggarts." Harry said.

"We also have to take the dogs out. I can do it if you want try to figure this out?" she asked.

"Yeah that would be helpful, take them back to the house through the doors though. Until we figure this out we should walk the halls in a group. Besides it's after curfew I think." He said looking at his watch.

"Good call."

Harry headed up to his dorm to find the other boys had picked out beds already leaving him with the one closest to the door. Neville and Dean joked that it was so he could guard the door. Harry changed into his PJs and sat on his bed crossed legged. He fell deep into his mind and located the feeling it was on the grounds then it was in the forest it was moving fast and it was hard to keep track of it but soon it was gone, either it left the wards or it had a way to cloak itself from the wards. Either way it was bad and he knew he was going to call Amelia tomorrow and tell her about it. He didn't want to, he didn't want to have to call for back up on the first day but if it was a real threat then having back up was a good idea. Blaze came out of his trunk and hopped up onto the bed and laid next to him breaking him out of his meditation. Harry smiled at the dog and laid down for bed himself.


	9. Chapter 9

That first night in the castle Harry slept fitfully. So much so that he got up in the middle of the night and went down into his trunk to see if it was the school bed that was keeping him up, but he knew deep down that the uneasy cold feeling he felt hours ago, a feeling that had since vanished from his mind but not from his chest, was the cause of the uneasy rest. At six he gave up on his fitful rest and sent his dog through the door to Hermione's trunk. Blaze walked through her trunk up the stairs, and into her room, he woke her and Shadow up and they met Harry in his trunk dressed in bath robes and slippers. From there they took the dogs through the door to the Shed and checked the back yard to make sure a version of themselves weren't out there already. The coast was clear so they let the dogs out and soon two more dogs and two Grangers met them at the table.

"Hey you two, how was your first day?" Emma asked excitedly as she hugged the two kids.

"We don't know, we haven't lived it yet." Harry said sharing a look with Hermione. They broke the time chain by coming here now instead of at the end of the first turning of the school day. Normally this could be explained away but they set out a very rigid and tight schedule. For them to break it on the first day meant something was wrong and they knew the elder Grangers would know it. Now they needed to figure out what to tell them. The full truth, or most of the truth. Emma, however, solved their dilemma for them.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a mom voice. Funny enough it made Harry crack first.

"The wards of the castle are connected to me like the wards of the house are connected to me. I get reports from the wards when they feel something is off, or if they are being attacked. Last night I got a cold feeling from the wards. This could have been nothing or it could have been something bad. The problem is my connection to the wards is too fresh and weak to get a clear answer from the wards at the time the feeling hit me. After a few minutes the feeling subsided, but it didn't go away and I had trouble sleeping the whole night. Even now, were six hundred miles away from the castle and I can still feel the cold feeling in my chest. Now it could be something as bad as the old man or his pet Death Eater plotting to kill us, or it could be as simple as a closet full of bugarts. The castle is huge. Seven floors tall, two levels underground, and god only knows how many secret passages and closets. It's a lot of ground to cover and I'm betting these wards will be able to pinpoint the threat as soon as the wards bond with me some more. Until then we just don't know what's in the castle. Now we don't want to call Amelia and get her all worried and panicked for a closet full of simple dark creatures, but?" Harry finished with a shrug.

"Harry, I know you don't want to be the boy who cried wolf but this is not a game, if anything happened to you guys…" That's as far as Emma got before she lots her fight with her emotions and grabbed the two in a tight hug. Dan for his part was quiet and contemplative for a few moments.

"Harry, what are the odds that what you're feeling is something small and insignificant?" Dan asked in his normal calm and rational tone of voice.

"Small I think, this feeling kept me up all night and the initial spike stopped me dead. but, we can't just storm the castle and search it. It would take days to look in every room and it would ruin our element of surprise. I don't want the old man to know for sute that I own the castle until he makes a move on us." Harry admitted.

"Do you two think you're in immediate danger?" Dan asked.

"No, and we have to get back to the school soon, we have to get ready for breakfast and classes soon. As it is Neville will be waiting for us in my trunk. If we don't return soon he'll be coming through the shed door looking for us." Harry said looking at his watch.

"Then head back to the school but I want you both in Full Gear. FULL. That means vests, cloaks, lightsabers, swords, and anything else you two have. While you two head back to school we'll head to Amelia's office. We'll have a team waiting to back you up today. Give us a trunk with a door, we'll have her put a team of Aurors on stand by today. If you need us call us and we'll be there with help. Keep Harry's trunk with you. At the first inkling of something being off I want you to call us. Also make sure Neville is geared up and ready to back you two up. You are two of the most dangerous people i've ever met. Look after each other. We'll be sitting in Amelia's office waiting for a call. If the feeling fades or things change I want you to call us too." Dan said looking at Harry as he spoke. The message was clear. Kill if you have to but you make sure our girl is safe. Harry for his part understood the look and nodded.

"I'll have all of my gear plus Ignis in his gem, Merlin's staff, and Godric's sword. I'm on edge as it is, if someone just approached me too fast today they are liable to loss a hand." Harry said pulling a silver dagger out of thin air.

"Good." Dan said coldly.

"I don't want you two to go back to that school." Emma said holding them closer.

"We have to go back mum. Besides, the Castle is my home too. It belongs to me and I'm not abandoning it. We just have to be vigilant until this feeling solidifies into a real threat. As soon as it does we're calling you guys. We are not going to try to play hero." Harry said hugging her back before he broke away and pulled Michael's trunk out of his bag of holding. "Here is a trunk, it's not charmed with a lock yet but the door works." Harry said handing the shrunken trunk to Dan. Dan pulled Harry into a manly hug.

"Watch yourselves. We knew the school was full of danger but you two are ready for anything." He said so only Harry could hear it.

"I'll watch her back." Harry said.

"I know you will. Now you two better get back before Neville gets worried." Dan said hugging his daughter and helping her get out of Emma's grip. Dan watched them walk into the shed as he held his crying wife.

"How can you let them just go back to that school when you know they're in danger!?" Emma asked as she tried to get her crying under control. Her hormones were really bad now and she knew it was the potion she was taking. Aurora was just as bad.

"Because Harry is a Powerhouse and our daughter is his match. Both of our kids are going to be just fine. Now let's get dressed quick so we can get to Amelia's office. We have to explain it to her. We better call Sirius, Aurora, and Andy too. We want to be covered on all sides. If Harry kills the old man today we don't want him to face charges for it." Dan said walking her into the house.

"Okay, I'm sorry I'm acting like this, it's the damn potions." She said looking a bit red around the ears.

"I know, but our kids need us right now. Now let's get going." Dan said calling the dogs back into the house.

Harry walked through the door to his trunk and found Neville sitting at the table checking his watch. Harry smirked. Neville got up and followed Harry up the stairs. Harry saw the rest of the boys coming to. He gathered them all up and broke the news to them all. Michael and Terry looked worried and fearful after he was finished breaking down the situation. Dean looked nervous but he was hiding it better. Neville on the other hand looked ready for a fight.

"So full gear and full alert?" Neville asked in a calm tone as he pulled a black case out of his bag of holding. He set it on his bed and opened it revealing a folded up black robe, a dragon hide vest, a wide belt with pouches for potions and loops to hold weapons, a cavalry saber, a lightsaber, and a row of different sized knives from a small blade to a long dagger. The other boys looked at the case in shock.

"Vest, cloaks, belts and lightsabers should be more than enough. I doubt we'll need swords or blades." Harry said pulling a similar case out only his was twice the size and had a bunch more gear in it including six other swords, a shrunken dirt bike, and a .22 caliber hunting rifle.

"Do we get gear like that?" Dean asked looking excited at the prospect.

"You will but for now I can make you all vests. I'll make you kits like Neville's later." Harry said pulling a bag full of dragon hide leather scraps out of his bag of holding. He grabbed a handful out and turned it into two vests. He did it two more times making six vests. He handed the guys three and sent the other three with Blaze to Hermione's room in the girls tower.

The group got ready for the day with Harry taking a few minutes to put on his full gear including his wide belt full of potions and blades, that vanished as soon as he did up the three buckles. He tested his movements to make sure it was la right before following the group down. In the common room he spotted Hermione who was also in full gear along with Susan and Hannah. They waited patiently for Penny and Percy to escort them down to Breakfast but the whole way down the group had their heads on a swivel. Something their minders noticed as soon as they left the tower.

"What's with the jumpy looks?" Penny asked.

"We're trying to familiarize ourselves with the school so we don't get lost." Harry said without missing a beat as they descended a staircase passing the third floor.

"Good thinking guys. I see we have a smart group this year Penny." Percy said nodding his approval.

As they passed by the third floor the feeling of coldness grew in his chest. Harry locked eyes with Hermione and looked down the left side of the third floor.

"Penny, what's on the third floor?" Hermione asked.

"You mean in the corridor you're not supposed to go down?" Penny asked.

"No, I mean the other way? Are there any classes on that floor? I don't want to get lost and end up somewhere I'm not supposed to be." Hermione asked in an innocent tone.

"Well on the other side of the third floor in the Defence against the dark arts classroom." Penny said. "But it's hard to get lost and end up on the other side it's blocked off by the stairs." Penny added.

"I didn't see the DADA teacher last night at the feast. Is he okay?" Harry asked.

"The professor caught a stomach bug on his sabbatical. He spent the night resting so he could be ready for today." Percy said.

"Is he a good teacher? DADA looks like a cool class." Harry asked as they made it to the Great Hall.

"Professor Quirrell is a good teacher, but he tends to stutter a bit if he's stressed." Penny admitted as she lead the first years to the front of the table.

Again Harry made plates for the group. He did it deftly and only the group saw the plates appear on the table. Harry scanned the teachers table looking for the DADA professor. But he wasn't there. He locked Eyes on Minerva and she came down to hand out the schedules. She had to start with the older kids but she made it to Harry in a few minutes and as soon as she laid her hand on his shoulder to lean in to talk to him she felt the heavy vest under his clothes.

"WHat's wrong?" She asked softly.

"The wards flared last night and they've been flaring ever since. I can feel them, it's coming from the third floor left side. The DADA classroom side. What do you know about Quirrell?" Harry asked.

"He's an average teacher with a good track record, he taught last year and he got back from his vacation to Africa yesterday afternoon looking sick and pale." Minerva said without any preamble.

"DId you talk to him personally? Did he seem like himself?" Harry asked.

"I didn't talk to him, only Albus and Severus were here when he got back." She said. "What are you thinking?" She asked.

"It could be anything. He could be a Death Eater using polyjuice, he could be possessed by something he picked up in Africa, he could just be harboring dark intent, or a dark creature he picked up as a pet. Either way we have to find out." Harry said.

"What are you two going to do? Why don't we call in a team of aurors?"

"We have a team of Aurors standing by, but if it's just a dark creature he has locked in a cage then we blow our cover for nothing. We need confirmation before we call in backup. Do we have his class today?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you have a short class with him at eleven right after a double session of Potions." She said handing him the card with his schedule.

"Are we his first class?" Harry asked.

"Yes I think so." She said looking mildly frantic.

"Do you have classes this morning?" Harry asked.

"Not at that time. I have a morning session that let's out at ten." She said.

"Pull us out of Potions at half past ten, I want to get eyes on this Quirrell and question him. If he checks out then we get him involved in the search. Do you trust the old man enough to bring him in on this? It's up to you." Harry asked.

"No, I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. I don't trust Snape either, watch yourselves in his class today. He's been warned but he might try to provoke you." She said patting him on the back as she moved down the table.

"You heard all that?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I did." She said nodding.

"So did I, you're not planning on leaving me behind right?" Neville asked.

"I was, I need you to watch the group and Snape. If he's in on this then I need you to take him out." Harry said.

"Understood." Neville said patting Harry on the back.

"Thank you for understanding brother." Harry said.

"So much for a normal school year. Wards flaring, a possible imposter assassin teacher, a known Death Eater that might be in on it, a possible fight on our first day. You know every day i've known you Harry has been a day full of excitement." Neville said in a deadpanned tone.

"The fact that you've stuck it out so far is still shocking." Harry said shaking his hand with a smirk.

"Honor to know you." Neville said.

"Remember, if the snake moves summon his wand, or crush it and take his wand hand with your saber. You move faster than he can and he won't be expecting you to strike him." Harry said.

"I know, I'm not freaked out. You've trained me for close to six weeks on that move. I can do it blindfolded." Neville said without a trace of overconfidence in his voice. He was just speaking facts and that set Harry's mind at ease.

The group was escorted to the dungeons at nine for their first class. It was potions with the slytherins. Harry and Hermione took the table in front with Neville and Dean. the rest of the group fill in behind them. With Sally-anne teaming up with the twins. The other side of the room was full of green. As soon as the nine O'clock hour hit Snape came floating out of his office with his cloak billowing behind him. Harry was tempted to stick his cloak to a table so the large greasy bat would get shagged but he let it pass. Snape made a grandiose self important speech before he took attendance which confused Harry for a second. After all it's not like he needed to take attendance, they were escorted to the room by a prefict and it was the first day. This was a total waste of time Harry thought until Snape got to his name.

"Oh yes, Potter, our very own celebrity. Tell me Potter, if I was to mix asphodel and wormwood what would it git?" Snape asked.

"Drought of living death Sir." Harry said without pause which made Snape stop short.

"Can you tell where I could find a Bezoar?" Snape asked.

"The stomach of a goat or that bottle on the shelf back there marked Bezoars sir." Harry said as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. That was a third year question. The fact that Snape's eyes flashed with shock and anger added to Harry's anger as well. This wasn't a test, this was the man's attempt to belittle Harry in front of his snakes.

"And what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?!" Snape all but growled out.

"Nothing, it's the same plant, it's also called Aconite. It's used in the making of the Wolfsbane potion. Would you like me to brew it for you?" Harry asked in a cold tone. That was a NEWT level question, and Harry officially reached the end of his patients with the man. If he didn't move on He was going to lose an arm.

"Five points for your cheek Potter!" Snape said with a smirk.

"Lord Potter." Harry said with a smirk. He was done.

"WHat?" Snape asked.

"Lord Potter, as the head of an ancient and Noble house you will use my title or I will call for an honor duel, and trust me, you don't want that. Not today." Harry said coldly.

"An honor daul?" Snape asked laughing causing the Slytherins to laugh as well. Harry's group did not laugh however.

"You stand on thin ice Mr. Snape. Ice that is cracking." Harry said in a calm tone, if he was going to do this and throw the plan out the window to get rid of this giant ass then he was going to do it with a level head.

"Has your big head really grown so big you think you can take on an adult wizard?" Snape asked locking eyes with Harry. He tried to probe his mind and Harry felt his watch get warm. Harry knew he was trying to attack his mind and he turned it back on him.

"Trying to read my thoughts snivellus? You really must want to die today. I will strike you down and sleep like a baby tonight. I am more powerful then you can ever imagine." Harry projected into Snape's mind so loud that the greasy man clutched his head in pain. "It's not fun to be on the receiving end of this is it. I can see everything. Every thought and experience you've ever had. You loved my mother didn't you slimy? Tell me, does the old queen know you enjoy little girls like he likes little boys? Do you share your perversions together?" Harry asked coldly.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Snape yelled as blood flowed from his nose.

"I should kill you for the crimes you committed but instead I'm going to hand you off to Amelia, she's going to bind what little magic you have and then lock you up in a muggle prison with a big man named Bubba. He's going to pass your ass around." Harry projected as he copied the memories of Snape raping and killing muggle born girls in his Death Eater get up. He pulled out of Snape's head sending the man to his knees. Snape pulled his wand but Harry held up his right hand and crushed the wand and the man's hand by making a fist.

The slytherins shot out of their seats but Neillve pulled his lightsaber and locked eyes with the kids in green trimmed robes.

"Any of you snakes move so much as a finger and you'll fucking lose it!" He yelled plunging the room into silence.

"Ease up a bit Nev, but good reaction time." Harry said with a smile as he stood next to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. "Hermione go set up my trunk and call in backup, we're not going to do this nice and easy. We're going to do this loud and messy, right now. You lot, you will all sit in your desk, now!" Harry intoned and every snake dropped into their seats. "Good. Neville you have control of the group and the snakes." Harry said vaulting over his work table and binding snape's arms behind his back. Amelia came through the door with a team of ten aurors, Sirius, Aurora, and Andy.

"THis man attacked my mind and I used the attack to read his mind, he's committed multiple rapes and murders as a death eater. I can provide copies of his memories and I'm willing to testify to all of this in the Wizengamot chambers. Right now we need to get the deputy headmistress and head up to the DADA classroom. We have a darkness in that room." Harry said pulling his unlit lightsaber out.

"Goldman, and Clark take the prisoner back to the office. Harris you stay here and watch the kids. Group you help out." Amelia said as she followed Harry and Hermione out of the classroom with Sirius and the rest of the adults following close behind. Harry marched up the stairs on the second floor Amelia sent a pair of Aurors to go watch Minerva's class and send her out. They waited just long enough for her to join the group before Harry marched the group up to the third floor. They marched into the DADA classroom and found it empty. Harry waved his arm and pushed all of the desk off to one side of the room.

"Quirrell!" He yelled out letting his magic flare. The door to the office up the winding staircase opened and Quirrell stuck his turbaned Head out the door.

"Y-y-yes?" he asked.

"There is a darkness in this room, you will come down and answer some questions." Amelia said.

"Oh, o..Okay?" The man said coming down the stairs.

"The wards registered a dark spike last night at eight o'clock. Can you tell me you're whereabouts at that time?" Amelia asked.

"I, I, was in my, r-r-room." He said walking up to the group when he got fifteen feet away Harry felt the cold spike hit harder.

"It's him." Harry said eyeing the man. Harry saw his right arm twitch and instinctively Force pushed the man back away from the group. Quirrell flew twenty feet through the air and hit the black boards knocking the wind out of him. When he stood up his turban fell off revealing a face in the back of his head. There was a commotion at the classroom door and the old man walked into the room.

"What is going on in…" He started saying but stopped when he saw the face too.

"Damn You Potter!" The face yelled as Quirrell pulled a wand from up his sleeve and fired a green spell at the group. All of the adult were so shocked that they couldn't move. Thankfully Harry was not frozen he blocked the spell with his lightsaber blade. Which rebounded the spell into the wall next to a window leaving a big black scorch mark on the wall. Harry's saber sputtered and died in his hand but he didn't care he tossed it and pulled Godric's sword as he jumped across the room using his power to fly the thirty foot to the front of the room where he took Quirrell's arm off at the elbow with one downward swing. Harry slammed Quirrell in the face with the pummel of the sword knocking him on his ass. He reached out to bind the man but as soon as he touched him Quirrell let out a scream and he turned to ash.

"What the fuck?" Harry said as a black wisp rose from the ashes and tried to slam into Harry but he bounced off his shield stone. It turned on the group and flew through the rest of the crowd and through the wall, two of the aurors fell to the ground as the wisp passed through them.

"Perkinis!"

"Harper!"

"Voldemort!"

"THe Dark Lord!"

Four people yelled at the same time sending the room into panic and shouting.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Harry yelled shaking the room. He stalked towards the group. "Hermione see what you can do for those two aurors. "You, Did you know?" Harry asked pointing at the old man with the gold sword.

"What is the meaning…" Was as much as he could get out before Harry's magic flared and he was lifted off his feet by his beard and flung to the floor in front of Harry who held the sword at his throat.

"Did you know the dark lord was in the back of his head?!" Harry asked in a deadly tone of voice that promised blood and justus.

Dumbledore looked into the cold eyes that stood over him judging him and he knew the man before him could take his head at any moment. It was at this moment that he knew how badly he was fucked.

"I did not know he was playing host to the dark lord." The old man said in a dry and cracking tone of voice.

"Do you know why he came here?" Harry asked.

"No." Albus said only to feel blood trickle down his neck. "I can guess but I'm not sure!" he amended and the blade pulled back revealing a small cut on neck.

"What is your best guess?" Harry asked.

"You, he came here to kill you, or he came here for the philosopher's stone I have hidden in the castle." Albus said causing a shocked gasp to ripple through the group.

"Your pet snake attacked my mind. I used it to see inside of his head. Did you know he rapped and muredered six young muggleborn girls in his service to the dark lord?" Harry asked.

"No." Albus said only to be lifted off his knees by his beard to the high ceiling of the classroom. "I swear I didn't know!" He yelled. He was dropped from the ceiling causing both of his legs to break on impact with the flagstone floor. He let out a blood curdling yell as Harry grabbed his beard with his left hand and yanked his head up to look at him again.

"You knew even if you didn't know the details. I am the heir to Godric Gryffindor. I own this school and the land it sits on. If I had it my way i'd take your fucking head right now for the crimes you've committed. Lord knows you deserve much worse. But you will live, and you will keep your title as headmaster. Do you know why? Because the sheep can't handle change. But you belong to me do you understand me? Fucking say it!" Harry said yanking his beard bringing his head up to his face so they could lock eyes.

"I am your humble servant." Albus said feeling the magic of the castle force him to speak the words of futility. He felt the magic bind him to Harry as his vassal.

"Good. You will accompany Amelia and Aurora to the Ministry and you will announce the return of the dark lord. Then you will preside over Snape's trial this weekend. You will hand over the stone to me and I will hide it in a place the Dark lord will never find it. After that you will play the part of the kindly grandfather until the day you croak. You will live out your days helping me take this archaic world into the modern times. You will do so because if you don't i'll take your fucking head off your shoulders with this sword and then I will tell the world what you really did. The choice is yours. You can die in twenty years a hero. Or you can die sooner as a villain. I just want you to remember something. Men die and they leave two things. Legacy and Legend. What legacy with you leave? What legends will they tell of you? A manipulative old man that was worse then the two dark lords his let come to power so he could fuck the pureblood system for his own gains Or the great master Mage that stopped three wars? I will let you keep the bullshit legacy you have cultivated over the last hundred years. Or I can burn the name Dumbledore from history." Harry said dropping the old man.

"I will work with you." He said through the pain of his broken legs.

"Good. You fuck me and I'll fuck you and not in the way you like. Now do your fucking job." Harry said walking away from the fallen man and the rest of the adults.

"Both of my legs are broken." The old man said.

"You're a wizard, fix it." Harry said walking over to the two downed aurors that were both sitting up looking drained. "What's going on Hermione?" He asked.

"Both men are drained. The dark lord must have stolen their power to fly away." She said running scans on the two.

"You did good boys. Have a power tonic. It will help you regain some of your power." Harry said taking a power potion out and pouring half into a conjured cup. He handed the cup to one auror and the vile to the other auror.

"Thank you." one of the aurors said as he drank the tonic.

"You did your jobs and you held the door as best you could." Harry said before turning to Andy. "I want the truth of what happened here today to come out and I want it to come from us." Harry said.

"Understood. I'll go back to my office right now and write up the press release. Do you want your full title to go on the press release?" She asked looking at the gold sword.

"Yes. The sooner we get the information out the better. It will give us better legs to stand on later if I have to take the old man's head." Harry said. "For now we have to go check on the group. We also need to fix the mess i've made today. We need to hire two more teachers and we need a Head of house for the snakes." Harry said running his hands over his face.

"We'll take care of all that Harry. You did enough today. Why don't you head back to the house and get some rest. You look tired." Andy said touching his face. As Minerva walked over to check on him as well.

"I didn't sleep last night. The wards of the castle kept me up." Harry admitted.

"Head back home. We'll take care of this. Let the adults handle the boring adult things. We'll cancel class for the rest of the day and we'll send the group through your trunk in a little bit. I will call the Corners and see if they are willing to take over the class. As for DADA? I have no idea." Minerva said.

"I'll do it for a little while until you can find a real replacement." Sirius volunteered.

"You might be the best person for the job." Minerva said.

"We could get Remus Lupin."

"We can't replace the dark lord with a werewolf. The parents will lose their mind." Minerva said.

"You can after the yule break, we should have a good Wolfsbane alternative by then. If not an outright cure." Hermione said.

"Besides, if we both take the job it will take pressure off the two of us to run every class. He can live at the castle and I can commute through a trunk every day for classes. I can also cover potions classes if the Corners need to take a break to finish working on something." Sirius said.

"You better watch yourself Sirius, you're becoming a responsible adult." Andy said leading Harry and Hermione out of the room.

"I'm getting married to the Minister for Magic. I have to start acting like an adult." He said with a mischievous smirk.

"We should start making the announcements for all of this. It will be better if it comes from the Headmaster." Minerva said with a hint of disdain in her voice.

"What do we need to Announce?" Dumbledore asked as he walked over to her with Amelia.

"We are going to try to get the Corners to teach potions and we're going to have Sirius and Remus Lupin teach DADA." She said.

"Really, and I have no say in the matter? I'm headmaster of the school and I…" Is as far as he got before Minerva turned to look at him and socked him straight in the face.

"You will do as you're told or Harry will take your head you old queen. If we want your opinion we'll ask for it Dorthy, until then speak when you're spoken to." She said coldly. Dumbledore looked shocked and affronted but he held his tongue.

Harry and Hermione stopped off in in the Potions classroom to tell the group what happened before they grabbed Harry's trunk and took it back to his dorm room. They took the door to the trunk in Amelia's office and collected the Grangers who were very relieved that they were both okay. They took the door back to the house where they told the Grangers what happened. The story caused the elder grangers to latch onto the two of them. Harry didn't mind being held by Emma, in fact he fell asleep on the couch in the middle of the day. He slept until the next morning and only vaguely remembered heading up to bed.

Blaze got Harry up at six because he needed a walk. Harry rolled out of bed, summoned his bathrobe and slipper and opened the door for his dog. He met Hermione following shadow down the hall. They walked out the back door and the dogs ran over to their tree. Snow and Maggie ran out the back door a few seconds after with the elder Grangers following at a subdued pace. Harry pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on as he looked up at the sun cresting over the trees. Emma hugged both kids as she took the seat between the two at the big table. Harry made four cups of caramel cappuccinos on the table and took. He drank deep from his cup and laid his head on Emma's shoulder.

"Still tired Harry?" She asked rubbing his back.

"Not really, although I have to admit the power play I made was very draining. Reading Snape's mind took half my power, and reading the old man took almost the other half. Both men had very powerful mind shields. As it is I still couldn't read the old man's thoughts I could just tell if he was lying. I'm just really not looking forward to the newspaper, and the looks I'm, we're going to get today. We took out two professors on our first day. Both of them were evil men. I also have to deal with the old man on top of that. He's not going to be happy with me. He might end up needing another show of power, and I really don't like threatening to kill him. It feels wrong to abuse my power like that, but on the other hand I can't let him keep playing his game." Harry said as BLaze came over and put his big head in Harry's lap.

"The old man is a bully and a politician. A man like him only understands one thing, fear. If he think's you'll kill him then he'll respect you. What I want to know is how you feel about killing a man yesterday?" Dan asked.

"You mean Quirrell?" Harry asked. "I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know how it happened. It's something I'm going to have to ask the old man at some point. It's one of many questions he needs to answer. But in general, I don't feel too bad about that. Quirrell played host to an evil dark lord. The second he became that thing he killed himself. I was just the thing that he used to end it." Harry said looking down at his dog who was looking up at him with his big blue eyes. He could sense Harry's dark feelings and he wanted to be there for his human.

"Well, if you ever need to talk about anything that's on your mind son you come talk to me." Dan said putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. Just then a portkey landed Amelia, Andy, Aurora and Sirius in the back yard.

"Good you're still here. We wanted to talk to you about all the news." Amelia said walking over to the table with a copy of the paper.

"What's going on? Should I make breakfast?" Harry asked making cappuccinos for the new arrivals.

"Yes please, we called Minerva and told her you were going to talk to you this morning. As it is the students are going to be on a light class schedule for the next two weeks until we can get the school back on track. We got both Corners to take the job as potions teacher as well as Head of House Slytherin. Sirius will be taking over the DADA position for now." She said as the group took seats around the table. Harry made plates with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fresh berries.

"What's the paper say?" Harry asked as he made bowels of food for the dogs. He grabbed the gem and let Ignis out and made a plate for him too. The Red and Black dragon got wide eyed looks from the new comers to the table.

"Harry, you have a baby dragon?" Sirius asked.

"I don't have anything. Ignis was a good friend to Merlin and he agreed to be a friend to me. He's a fully grown dragon with a shrinking collar. Igins these are friends and allies." Harry said petting the dragon's head as he lit the metal plate full of meat and scotch with his fire breath. Ignis looked up from his plate and nodded to the people around the table before going back to his meal. "He's usually more friendly but he's hungry." Harry said scratching the spot between the dragon's wings on his back.

"Merlin Harry?" Amelia asked.

"Right, everything happened so fast yesterday that I didn't get a chance to tell what happened. It's kind of a funny story. I'm the third Maker in my bloodline. Merlin, Godric, and now me…." Harry spent the next half hour quickly telling them everything they needed to know about his family history. "And that's how I met Ignis." Harry said as the dragon walked up his arm and sat on his shoulder.

"Well this changes things, we're going to need to run another article tomorrow. As for today, you're going to be awarded the order of Merlin for your actions yesterday. You stopped a killing curse and you stopped Voldemort yet again. This will technically be your second Order of Merlin. You got one when you killed the dark lord the night he tried to kill you. The awards ceremony will take place today, in the Ministry's atrum at noon. We need to stop off at a store to pick up the set of Formal robes I ordered this morning at Madam Malkin's. And you don't have to give me that face I know it's a dog and pony show but it has it's purpose. You have a Name Harry. Everyone knows who you are, but you don't have a story. All the books and comics written about you were a pack of lies and you said so in your formal letter to the press. You didn't do any of that. But the people see you as a savior. They think you delivered them from evil ten years ago. Now they find out that the dark lord is back. They also find out the Old Man is a fraud and a liar. The people will panic if they have no one to turn to." Amelia said.

"They have you! Or you Aunt Aurora. Or Aunt Minerva. Or Grandmother Augusta. Adults. Why do they need me to step up and be their hope?" Harry asked looking at Amelia like she was crazy.

"We barely have names Harry. It's like you told the old man yesterday. You have a legend and at some point down the line you'll have a Legacy. You and Hermione we destined to do good things in this life. You are the most powerful man in the world right now. You could do anything with your power. You could have taken over the ministry, you know that right? You could have been minister of magic. But you want to help people. For free. Because you can. You two want to release a book of cheap potions right? You will be working with the Corners to get it done. You want to make sure everyone will get a coppie of that book? Then you need a name people can trust. No one is going to trust a potions formula made by two eleven year olds. Now if those two had an Order of Merlin? If they had a few of them between the two?" Amelia said letting the point hang in the air.

"But we want to be Unspeakables. How are we going to be famous and be unspeakables?" Harry asked.

"You can't, not publicly. Publicly you two will run for office, or sit for Wizengamot sessions, or even run the school. In your free time you can do research if you like." Amelia said.

"Yeah, that's not going to work for us. We want to hunt dark creatures, study the rare and unknown magics, and create the future of magical study." Harry said.

"I agree with Harry fully in this matter. I have no want to do any of the things you mentioned. Harry is the power of our team but I'm literally the book smarts. My whole goal in life is study." Hermione said.

"And you can. Being the wife of the Headmaster of Hogwarts take no time. You show up for meals. You can still join the Unspeakables. You both can. It's just a matter of Harry needing a public persona. None of the job options we laid out are a full 24/7 job." Amelia said.

"Think about it this way Pup, Batman has a day job working for his company so he can Batman at night right? This is the same thing. Back during the war we all took day jobs and fought back Death Eater attacks at night." Sirius said.

"And you would be surprised how little time and effort it takes to be minister for Magic. It's all pomp and circumstance, but really I'm in the office about two hours a day. I'm in the Wizengamot chambers for the three weekly hour long sessions I also have to have lunch meetings with Amelia, and the other department heads once a week. All together I'd say I do about twenty hours a week. Now if we were at war I'm guessing my days would be full of briefings. But I doubt it would be more than thirty hours a week. I put more time into being a crappy drunk teacher last year." Aurora said with a smirk.

"Twenty hours? You lazy cow! I should have taken the job!" Amelia said looking actually pissed off that being Minister was that easy.

"Well according to the old minister's staff the job used to be a lot harder. But over the years he fostered most of the job off on other people. The under secretary handles most of the day to day meetings, the press secretary handles all the press releases and information flow. You handle the security briefings for your muggle counterpart as well as the trial and prosecution of criminals. All I do is solve big problems and break up in fighting between the departments. Usually by throwing gold at it." Aurora said trying very hard not to laugh at Amelia as she turned red with anger.

"You have five years and then I'm taking your easy ass job." Amelia said.

"If you can get elected." Aurora said with a smirk.

Yes, well, we'll see. But as you can see you can still join the DoM with a day job. In fact I can get you both meetings with the head of the department. Not that you need it, he's Neville's great uncle and Augusta's brother Algernon." Amelia said.

"Please don't, we want to get recruited like normal. We want to get in on our own merit without help." Hermione said.

"Of course I'm going to have to have a talk with Neville about this fun little fact as well." Harry added with a smile. "I guess I can run the school, or something like that. Maybe teach. I'm good at that. As for today is there anything else I need to know?" Harry asked.

"Yes, in order to get your name out there and to build your new reputation as being the Heir to two great magical houses and the master wizard himself we need to get your story out there and I think we can do it with your speech today. We want the people to get to know you the way the rest of us do. You both are bright and powerful. You're the leaders of tomorrow and you need to get your story out there." Amelia said.

"Story?" Harry asked looking to Sirius.

"People need to get to know you Pup. For most people you are larger than life and your stories were told by a lot of people that got it wrong. People need the real story. You were raised by muggles to hide you from the Death eaters that fudge let out. You lucked into your powers and you've been using them ever since. You met Hermione and you both developed your own way of doing wandless magic. Through happenstance you found an old school trunk and you found out about the magical world. You found out about your powers and you found out about your titles. You went to school and on your first day the wards transferred to you and you felt a darkness in the school. You went to your first class and the teacher, a pardoned Death Eater attacked you. You put him down and you called for help. When help arrived you took them up to the DADA classroom and you stopped Voldemort from killing people. They need your story Pup so they can start backing you over the old man." Sirius said in a helpful tone.

"Got it. So do you have this speech or should I come up with it?" Harry asked. He was not liking almost any of this but he had to admit he never thought about any of it. He didn't take into account his fame, or the fact that he was too much in the public eye to get a secret job in the DoM. He didn't think about needing to come out and tell the world that he was the heir to a magical dynasty. The last in a long line. He was going to one day run the magical world and while he was going to do that anyways he wanted to do it through his friends. Neville would be minister of magic. Susan would take her aunt's job one day. They were supposed to live out their days in the shadows. Fixing the world through their work. Now he was going to have to put a smile on his face and deal with the fools. The sheep that were too dumb to realize they were being used by the old man.

"We thought it would be better if you just talked. You're going to be broadcast over the wizarding wireless, and a transcript of your speech will be printed in the paper tomorrow. People who win an Order of Merlin and bring a big stack of paper to the podium look weak and scatter brained. Just get up there and talk. You have a good natural speaking voice and a steel trap mind." Amelia said.

"Okay. let's get to it then." Harry said.

They Grangers and Harry got dressed and portkeyed to the ministry where a runner went to Madam Malkin's and got the dress robes Amelia ordered. Harry went into his trunk in Aurora's office and put them on. When he came back out of the trunk he did not look amused.

"This is supposed to look good? It looks like a tux with a silk bathrobe instead of a coat. And the crest look's wrong. The lion looks off. I think she used a pattern instead of the crest for the house of Potter. Look you want a big show right? Let's give it to them then. Let me fix this." Harry said walking back down into his trunk and slamming the lid.

"I take it he won't be going back to Madam Malkin's any time soon." Aurora said with a laugh.

The trunk lid popped open and Harry came back out. He ditched everything but the black pants. He now had on a red dress shirt with the Gryffindor gold chest plate on over it. He had the sword on his hip and a heavy red cape that looked like a tapestry with the house of Merlin on the back in gold was tied through the loops on his shoulder armor. He had Ignis perched on his left shoulder and he was holding the Dragon staff in his right hand. He looked like a conquering king that stepped out of a painting.

"How about this? Big enough?" Harry asked looking at all the adults in the room. Most of them were staring at him with their mouths open. Hermione walked up to him and checked him over.

"It's good. You look regal Harry." She said with a soft smile.

"Good let's do this then, I want to get back to our routine as fast as we can, Neville's parents are counting on us. I also want to get back to the school." Harry said.

"Let's go the press is waiting. We have people from the Wireless and the Prophet waiting in the lobby but there are about three dozen reporters from all over the world. So be prepared for the crowd." Aurora said as she lead them into the elevator and down to the lobby. When the doors opened they all got out and they were assaulted by flash bulbs. Harry followed Aurora on to the platform in front of the fountain in the lobby with Amelia trailing close by as the press went nuts at the sight of Harry and what he was wearing. The dragon, the gold armor, and the staff helped to really sell the power coming off Harry in waves. Aurora stepped up to the podium and and asked for quite with her raised hands.

"We are gathered here today to present an Order of Merlin First Class to a descendent of Merlin himself. I have the honor of knowing this powerful young man personally and I can tell you this now. This is his second Order of Merlin and it won't be his last. Yesterday was his first day at Hogwarts. As soon as he crossed the ward line the ancient wards put in place by Godric Gryffindor recognized Harry as a descendent of the house of Lions and the wards bound themselves to him. During the feast he felt a disturbance in the castle and the next morning he called both myself, Sirius Black, and Amelia Bones on the Magical phone he made and told us of the disturbance. Director Bones put together a team of Aurors and we headed to the school. Harry went to his first class. That was when Pardoned Death Eater Severus Snape attacked Harry. Harry defended himself and his whole class from the Death Eater. That was when we arrived on scene. Aurors arrested Snape and we headed up to the defence against the dark arts classroom where the wards were telling Harry the dark disturbances was. We attempted to question Professor Quirrell when he fired off a powerful Killing curse at the group after it was found out that he had the evil spirit of the dark lord Voldemort in the back of his head. Harry blocked the spell with a device he made and engaged in a short and very one sided fight with the dark lord's host. After disabling the man in a few short seconds he attempted to bind the man when the body of Quirrell turned to ash and the black spector of Voldemort vanished. Yesterday Harry felt a darkness and called for help. When help arrived he ended up saving all of our lives. For his quick thinking and fast action in the protection of both the Minister of Magic and the Head of the DMLE but also the defeat of Voldemort once again we award Harry Potter the Order of Merlin First Class!" Aurora said taking the gold medal on a red ribbon out of the wood box Amelia was holding and put it around Harry's head making sure not to disturb Ignis too much. She then maneuvered Harry in front of the podium.

"Good morning. I was told that as an Order of Merlin recipient it's tradition for me to make a speech. Now I'm not one for big speeches but I think I should take this opportunity to set the record straight on my past…" Harry laid it all out for the press over the next twenty minutes. He was put with his muggle aunt. He didn't know about magic. The whole thing his uncle Sirius told him to say Harry told the enraptured reporters. He finished it with his thoughts for the future. "Now that you know me a little bit better I think I should let you know what my plans for the future are. I, along with my best friend Hermione Granger and the Corners plan to make a book of Potions and give it away for free. This book will have brewing instructions for cheap and easy to brew alternatives to expensive potions. Take for instance this alternative to the Pepperup potion." Harry said pulling a red vile out of his pocket. "This potion cost fractions of a knut to brew and it works better than the more expensive alternative. This potion along with dozens more will go into this book we plan to write. Any questions?" Harry asked as he made a bottle of water and a glass and took a drink causing a lot of murmurs and whispers to flow through the crowd.

"Lord Potter, what are your plans for the future!?" One reporter called out.

"I plan to get back to school i've missed the first two days already." Harry said with a boyish grin causing the crowd to laugh. "Aside from that I'm not sure yet." Harry added scratching Ignis under his chin.

"Lord Potter, can you demonstrate your making powers!?" Someone yelled out from the back of the group.

"Sure, this fountain's plaque says donations go to St. Mongo's. Well, let's make a donation." Harry said waving his staff. A pallet of gold bars appeared out of thin air. Harry set it next to the fountain. "I'd toss them in but i'd hate to be the guy that has to fish out a ton of gold." Harry said with the same grin making the crowd smile and laugh at his shocking feat of magic. "Amile you might want to have some Aurors take that to the bank." Harry added making the crowd laugh harder.

The questions lasted for another half hour and Harry killed it. He was charming and funny. He answered every question with a quippy answer and by the end of the press conference he cemented his place in the wizarding world as a powerful and charming future leader. He made sure to shake hands and greet reporters as he walked off the stage. He cast a feather light and floating charm at the pallet as he walked by and got a thankful nod from the four aurors standing by the pallet. He stopped by the welcome desk and greeted the girl working at the counter. She looked pale and tired.

"You look under the weather." He said.

"I have a cold." The girl admitted with a smile.

"Here, take this and and later tonight take this you should feel better in the morning." He said handing her a vile of pepperup and a vile of his healing tonic. Before walking to the elevator with the rest of the group. When the doors closed the grin fell off his face. "That took way too long and grinning like a fool hurt my jaw." Harry said.

"You did good Pup." Sirius said patting Harry on the back.

"Yes well, let's hope I don't have to do something like that for a while." Harry said shifting around in his armor. "This stuff is hard to wear." He added as they walked into Aurora's office. Harry changed back into his school uniform and they portkeyed back to the Granger's house. They sat down for a late lunch before Harry and Hermione took the door to her trunk and they were back in school. They came down into the common room and they were met by the whole house looking at Harry as he came down the stairs.

"What?" Harry asked looking at the group of 74 house members.

"Nothing Harry, they're just shocked is all, we heard your press conference. Is the Order of Merlin heavy?" Neville asked breaking the tension in the room with a joke.

"You tell me." Harry said tossing the wood box with the medal at Neville. "As for the rest of the house. Yes I'm the heir to Gryffindor, I'm also the hair to Merlin. Yes I took down Snape and Quirrell yesterday. And finally yes, this is a real dragon." He said petting Ignis' head. "Now the question is, are we going to sit around the common room and stare at each other or, are we going to celebrate the fact that we don't have to deal with Snape any more. Now I'm happy to sit here and answer your questions or, we can party until Aunt Minerva comes in here and tells us to pipe down." Harry said pulling his staff out of his pouch, expanding it and waving a crate full of junk food and board games into existence in the middle of the common room floor as he walked to empty corner of the room and made an oversized leather chair. He plopped down in the chair and Hermione sat on the arm of the chair as their two dogs came over as the house attacked the crate. Someone put on a radio and twins came over.

"Congratulation Lord GryffinMrelin." Fred said with a smirk.

"On your Medal." George added.

"We would also like to thank you for getting rid of Snape." Fred said bowing.

"The man had no sense of humor." George finished as he too bowed.

"You are most welcome boys. Tell me, would you two know how to get crates like that one into the other three common rooms?" Harry asked.

"We might, what's in it for us?" Fred asked with a joking grin.

"One of these now." Harry said making a small gold bar and tossing it to Fred. "Another one after you come back. So what do you guys say? Would you mind delivering a goody box to our brothers and sisters in the other three houses?" Harry asked.

"Is this real?" Fred asked looking at the small ten ounce gold bar.

"It's real, so is this one." Harry said making a second gold bar and held it up so they could see it. Both twins took one look at the bar and dropped to one knee.

"We are your humble servants." Fred said.

"At your call whenever you need us." George said.

"Good, these boxes are under a simple shrinking charm. Make sure each house gets one with my compliments. If you can't get into Syltern leave it in front of their door with this note." Harry said waving his staff and making three more crates, these three were the size of a small lunchbox and a rolled up parchment with the house of Merlin wax seal. The twins took the items and bowed before slipping out of the common room.

"Recruiting the twins?" Neville asked as he and Dean came over to Harry to pet the dragon.

"It's better to have those two in my pocket then spying on me for gold." Harry said as Penny and Percy came over.

"All that candy and soda Harry? These kids are going to get sick." Penny said looking like she wanted to stop the younger kids from gorging themselves on sugar.

"Relax Penny. I made it taste sweet but it's very healthy. We are all on a strict diet and I make all of our meals to be tasty but very healthy. As soon as it hit their bellies it becomes good food full of vitamins and nutrients." Harry said.

"Well, okay then." She said nodding.

"Would you like me to make a table full of sandwiches and real food as well?" Harry asked looking at the two prefects.

"If it's not too much trouble?" Percy asked looking unsure of how this new power dynamic was playing out.

"Not at all Percy. Maybe after that you could join us for a game of poker. We play for gold." Harry said standing up and waving at the table in the back. Six big platters of sandwiches materialized on the table.

"Um I don't have much gold." Percy said.

"Do you have sickles and knuts?" Neville asked pulling a small table over as Dean grabbed a few chairs.

"I do." Percy said pulling a leather coin pouch off his belt.

"Then you have gold. Exchange his coins Harry." Neville said pulling the case of gold coins out as Dean shuffled the cards.

"Here toss me your coin pouch." Harry said summoning his coin pouch he dumped it on the table and counted five sickles and twenty knuts. He waved at the coins and turned them into forty-five gold coins. "There you go. Each one of those coins is worth four and a half gaellons." Harry said pulling a hand full of bronze coins from his bag and turning them into gold.

"This is more then my father make in three months." Percy said looking at the coins.

"Well if you're good at cards you can make a lot more then that. Dean walked away from our last game with like double that." Harry said leaning forwards to take his cards.

"You are corrupting a prefect Harry." Hermione said shaking her head as she stood up.

"I'm just letting the man in on our little card game." Harry said.

"Right. Come on Penny, let's grab a soda and play a game of wizard's chess." Hermione said.

A few hands in and Percy was up ten more coins. Harry and Neville where making sure he won two out of three hands to start so later when they started playing for real he wouldn't lose too much. The twins came in during the tenth hand and Harry handed them the other gold bar as well as two stacks of gold coins and they got in on the game. Minerva came in at six to check on the house and saw the party going on with kids playing games and eating junk food. She locked eyes with Harry and nodded before walking out with a smile. The party went on until ten when the seventh years broke it up and sent the kids under fifth year to bed. Percy ended up with sixty gold coins and the twins ended up with thirty each. But the big winner was Dean. He added sixty more to his ever growing sack of coins he now had a 146.

"How much is that worth Harry?" Dean asked adding the coins to his bag.

"It's a bit over 30,600 pounds." Harry said. As he exchanged the Weasley's gold coins for gold galleons. "As for you guys let's see, that's 505 gold galleons for you Percy, and 505 for you two." Harry said pulling red Gringotts coin bags out of his bag of holding. "You each get one of these bags, they are certified Gringotts bags of five hundred gold coins. And here are the 10 coins extra. It was fun playing with you three." Harry said leaving the redheads speechless. He ran up to his room and pulled on his robes and came back to eavesdrop on the tree brothers.

"... Have you ever seen so much gold? If we play this game a few more times we can have enough to open a joke shop when we get out of here." Fred said.

"I'm holding half of our father's yearly pay. You think we can do this every week?" Percy said looking at the bag.

"I don't know, and I doubt you'd fare as well the next time we play. He gave us more than a few hands." George said.

"Gave it to us?" Percy asked.

"More than a few times he folded when he had good cards. Neville too. The only ones really playing this game were the three of us and that kid Dean." Fred agreed.

"Why would he do that?" Percy asked.

"Because we need it more than they do." Fred said.

"I don't get it. Who would just give us gold? And for what reason?" Percy asked.

"A kid that can make gold with a wave of his hand and because you were cool about not cutting the party short. I have a feeling Harry is going to be fun to hang around with. And look, he left the bag of gold coins on the floor." George said picking up the bag.

"He left a thousand gold galleons worth of gold on the floor?" Percy asked.

"It's a test. Go take it up to him." Fred said handing the bag to Percy.

"And don't take any of the coins." George added.

Harry turned and ran up the stairs. He ditched his robe and sat on his bed looking at a book. Percy knocked on the door and Harry opened it.

"Hey Percy, coming to check on us?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"No, I came to tell you that you left this downstairs." Percy said handing him the sack with the 120 gold coins.

"Oh, i'll tell you, I make so much of this stuff I leave it everywhere." Harry said taking the sack. "You know what? You keep it. Now you have muggle money too. And if you ever need to exchange it you can come to me. In fact." Harry said grabbing a handful of bronze coins from his pocket and changing them into more gold coins before he tossed them into the sack. "Give some to the twins. Those two are fun." Harry said.

"But Harry?" Percy said looking ready to pass out.

"You want more?" Harry asked pulling more bronze coins out of his pocket.

"No! This is too much." Percy said.

"Oh. It's just gold Percy. Gold is shiny and you can buy things with it. But gold can't be your friend. We played cards for hours. We talked and joked and had a good time. That's something you can't buy. If it has something to do with your family wealth, or something like that I can make a pallet of gold bars with a thought. In fact, here." Harry made a stack of six gold bricks. He picked one up and gave it to him. "This brick is worth three times as much as that bag. Take all six." Harry said leaving Percy catatonic.

"BUt BUT!?" Percy said.

"We'll Take it!" Fred said pushing past Percy to grab three bricks. George took the other three.

"THank you Harry. If you ever need anything you just ask us." George said walking down stairs.

"But." Percy said.

"Percy, we playing next week or not? Are we friends or not?" Harry asked.

"No, I mean yes! We're playing next week and we're friends. Hell Harry. I don't know what to say." Percy said.

"Say nothing. Make sure your folks get some of those bricks. I have no idea what the twins would do with that much gold." Harry said patting Percy on the back as he turned him around and shut the door.

"That was funny Harry. Buying the Weasleys?" Neville asked.

"Why have enemies when you can have friends. Besides I like those three. The twins are fun and Percy is going places. He's got a good head on his shoulders and a real sense of right and wrong. It's also good to have friends that have some power in the house." Harry said changing into his PJs.

"Good thinking. I like the twins too." Neville said from his bed.

"Good night guys." Harry said as Blaze hopped up on his bed and tucked in next to Harry. Ignis for his part curled up on his nightstand and was already snoring.

"Good night Harry." came a chorus of voices. Harry snuffed out the candle and the comfort of the castle wards let him fall into a deep restful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Sorry this took so long, work and life got in the way and then the holiday weekend pushed this back even further. But even though I have all of those excuses I have to admit a big part of why I let those other things get in the way is because I've gotten bored with this story. It started off good, but I feel like every time I put up a new chapter I'm getting farther away from what made this story good in the first place. With that being said I think I managed to refocus the plot a bit more. This chapter ands a bit abruptly but it was running to long and I had to cut it for pacing. But on the up side the next chapter is ⅓ of the way written. Also to spice up my imagination I've outlined a third one shot for the Unspeakable series, and I'm working on the next chapter of Agent Potter. I've also reread Investigator Steel and I'm looking at possible ways to wrap that up.

The month of September was spent finding a pace and routine. It ended up teaching Harry more than he ever wanted to know about himself. By october his life would change drastically. But for the first two weeks of September they had light classes so the new replacement teachers could find their footing as teachers. The Corners were struggling the most but they had the smallest shoes to fill. On their first day they tried asking basic questions about potions making questions of their classes to assess where the students were. Their results were shocking. On average the students were at least two years behind in Brewing knowledge and even farther behind in ingredient reaction knowledge. They spent the whole month teaching the basics of potions making and ingredient reaction tables.

Sirius on the other hand fell into his role as an educator better than he even thought he would. He took most of the curriculum and tossed it right out the window. It used to be that the first three years were focused on dark creature study. And the next two were focused on spells and dualing. NEWT study was dedicated advanced spell casting and silent casting. He tossed that all aside. Instead he packed dark creature study into one and a half years. The next two and a half years were for learning curses and jinxes. Fifth year was now for advanced spells and dark magic. He cut dueling from the curriculum all together. If you stood in one place and tossed spells at someone it was the quickest way to get taken out in a fight. NEWT study was now all about battle tactics and war casting. To drive this point home he set up a demonstration using Harry. That was a fun class for Harry, not so much for the fifth, sixth, or seventh years. They found the experience terrifying. The whole thing took place in the room of requirement. The room was set up like the first two floors of a manor house. Sirius gathered the fifth, sixth, and seventh years in the seventh floor hallway on Friday of the second week.

"Okay, quiet down you lot. As you all know I've scrapped the dueling lessons from the curriculum. Many of you have complained about that. You all think that dueling is the most important thing in the world. Well, you all, for the most part know how to duel. You all have a good list of spells you know. Some of you know more then others but you know enough to be dangerous. Now with your skills in dueling do you all think you can take on someone younger than you?" Sirius asked.

"Yes sir I think I can can." Bletchley said standing tall.

"So if I was to send five of you into this room that is set up like a house you'd be able to take down a younger kid and bring him out here boud and or stunned?" Sirius asked.

"I know I can take on anyone here." He said puffing out his chest as he got dirty looks from the 119 other students in the hallway.

"Okay. Let me call my test subject and we'll see what you guys are made of. Harry! Come on out!" Sirius called and Harry rolled around the corner. Looking bored. He had Ignis on his shoulder and he was reading a book that looked like it weighed more than he did.

"Harry?" Percy asked looking pale.

"Oh, hey Percy, Penny, Ollie. How are you guys doing today?" Harry asked placing a bookmark in the book and dropping it on the floor by his feet.

"We were doing fine until we saw you." Percy said.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked acting hurt.

"Nothing Harry, um, Sir. Can I opt out of this whole thing. I fully accept your new idea of battle magic and I would really like to not go into a room with Harry Potter." Percy said looking really afraid.

"You're serious?" Bletchley asked. "He's a first year. How tough can he be?" He added.

"He took out Snape and the bloody dark lord you fool!" Oliver Wood said. He too looked like he really didn't want to be on the wrong side of Harry.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll send anyone that doesn't want to face Harry in first as one big group. I'll limit Harry to the stunning spell and only the stunning spell. What do you say?" Sirius asked.

"I'd like to skip this altogether." Percy said.

"Sorry Mr. Weasley. This is your best bet." Sirius said. "Now who wants to go in this group?" Sirius asked. Most of the Gryffindors and half the Hufflepuffs raised their hands there were 43 in all. "Okay Harry only stunners. Nothing else." Sirius said.

"Not even my dart gun with the knock out darts?" Harry asked making the older kids eyes bulge.

"No Harry, and try not to hurt anyone. And no killing!" Sirius said with a laugh.

"Right, hold Ignis." Harry said handing his dragon off to his uncle. Before heading through the door.

"Okay, you guys, you will go through the door, you will get thirty seconds to move through the house before Harry starts picking you off. Harry will come out when the last of you are down. That is when your timer will stop." Sirius said opening the door. "Harry they're coming in!" He called out into the entry hall of the house. Before pulling out a stopwatch and sending them into the house. He shut the door behind Percy who was the last one to go in, and checked his watch before starting the stopwatch. A second letter a Hufflepuff landed in the hall from out of thin air. She was quickly followed by three more. Inside the room Percy, Penny, and Oliver were looking around a fully lit game room with a pool table, dart board, and bar. As they crossed into the room they heard a scream of fright before it was cut off.

"We are so bloody cooked." Oliver said looking around the room with his wand up. The room was lit by gas lamps and candles. The whole house was and it gave every room an ominous glow. They heard commotion in the hall and they watched the door until the sounds of panic were cut short. The group relaxed a bit and they hear shouting and glass breaking a room down the hall before it too was cut short. Penny walked over to the window and looked out, it looked like an estate with grass and trees outside. There was a crash upstairs and a smashing of wood along with an explosion that shook the ceiling.

"How am I this afraid of Harry when I know this is just a game?" Penny asked but she got no response from the other two in the room. She turned around and found herself looking right into Harry's glowing green eyes before the world went black. Outside in the hall her body landed next to Percy. And Sirius hit the stopwatch as Harry walked out the door looking the same as when he walked in.

"Three minutes, it was slow kid." Sirius said as the other kids looked at the row of knocked out students in shock.

"You handicapped me with the no killing rule." Harry said.

"True. Still 43 people in 3:12 is not too bad." Sirius said.

"Don't placate me old bean, it was not my best work." Harry said.

"Now gear up for the next group, I'm going to send them in ten at a time. The only restriction I'll set is no permanent damage." Sirius said as he started waking the 43 students up. Harry for his part pulled out his black case and set it on a conjured table he expanded the case and opened it. He took off his robes and made a show of putting on his dragon hide vest over his shirt. He pulled a pair of Ruger mark II pistols out and put them into the holsters on his vest.

"You have muggle firearms?!" a seventh year Ravenclaw asked in shock.

"They fire darts full of sleeping drought. They are totally non-lethal. Just like this knife. It just marks you with red paint to show where the wounds would be. The same for this sword. Sirius, do I get to use the Staff?" Harry asked pulling his merlin staff out and expanding it.

"No you do not." Sirius said helping kids to their feet.

"How about the taser?" Harry asked sparking the taser so they could all see it.

"Nope you could kill someone with it." Sirius said.

"Fine you're still handicapping me." Harry said shrinking the case and putting on his robe.

"Complane and I'll send in bigger groups of combatants." Sirius said as Harry walked through the door.

"Victims." Harry corrected him.

"NO Permanent Damage!" Sirius called through the door before looking at the group of students. "Okay who feels brave?" He asked with a smirk. "No volunteers? Okay you ten. You get to go first. In you go." He said opening the door. For the group of mostly Ravenclaw seventh years. They walked into the front hall and the door closed behind them.

"Okay fan out and stick together. Shoot a stunner at anything that moves." the leader of the group said they walked down the hall as a group. Too bad for them Harry was using his invisible robes and he was waiting in the corner behind the front door. The group made it ten feet before they fell to a hailstorm of sleeping darts. They never even knew what hit them. Ten seconds after they entered the room they landed in the hall knocked out.

"Next!" Sirius called out pointing out a group of mixed Ravens and Badgers. This group rushed into the room and split up which baught them a whole twenty seconds as Harry had to stalk and shoot all of them.

The next group to come through the door where the seventh year Snakes lead by Bletchley and Flint. Harry had fun with this group. He stalked each of them under his invisible robes. He would sneak up on one, grab them with his left hand over their mouth, and run the fake knife across their throat before stunning them with his left hand. It had the effect of letting them know they could have died without having to kill them. Still none of these kids would ever look at Harry with anything but respect and fear. All together it took him ten minutes to take out the rest of the 76 other students. When the last student hit the hallway floor with a red slash mark across their chest Harry walked out of the room putting his practice cavalry saber away. He looked the same as he did when he went in. In fact he didn't even look like he broke a sweat.

"This was entertaining as a time waster but if you'll excuse me I have research to get back to." Harry said taking of his combat gear. He shrank the weapons case but left the table. He put his robe back on, picked up his big book, and with that he looked like he did when he came around the corner a half hour ago.

"Yeah Harry, thanks for handling this for me. I could have done it but I think you drove my point home better." Sirius said trying very hard not to laugh as Harry walked away.

"Now you lot, do you all see the benefit of battle tactics? If you would have worked as a team using cover and fire tactics along with curse breaking spells to detect magic you would have been able to take him out." Sirius said.

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think a team of hit wizards could have taken him out." Oliver said breaking the tension in the hallway.

"You're probably right. You are also lucky it was just him. If it was him and his two best friends?" Sirius said leaving the idea in the air.

"I think we all agree we need to learn these battle tactics you keep talking about but can Harry teach us?" Penny asked making everyone laugh. But through the laughter there was some nodding heads.

"We'll see. I think before any extra sessions with a pro you all need to learn the basics." Sirius said laughing with the group.

The next day the group walked out to the quidditch pitch with their Nimbus 2000s. The Gryffindor team was already out there running drills. When they arrived the team dropped down and formed a line. They were all in their team robes and they looked ready to kill. The group for their part looked calm with just a hint of boredom to their face. It was a look they had most of the time. It un-nerved the other students. What they didn't know was the group did so much on their turned days that school was rather boring. Take for example the last four days. They worked on lightsaber combat, advanced spells and enchantments, potions testing, and to top it all off they did an hour of flying drills at the end of each day. So the mundane school day tended to be a bit boring.

"As you can see the House team is missing a seeker. From what we've been told we plan on filling that slot with Harry if he can pass the tryout for the position. However, Harry brought up the idea of a back up team or a Jr team to take over for a player when they get hurt or when the player graduates. We know you guys don't play with beaters or a seeker so…" Oliver was interrupted by Harry.

"We can play a full team, we'll even give you one of our back up players to act as your seeker or I can show you how pointless the position is first and we can play without one for this tryout." Harry said.

"Pointless?" Oliver asked.

"Here let me try out for the seeker position now and I'll show you." Harry said pulling a case out of his bag of holding out to show everyone. He opened it up and showed oliver five golden snitches. "These are standard pro level golden snitches. They are charmed objects. I can feel charmed objects with my mage sense. With the help of the castle wards I can even sense my position relative to the ground and the stands in the pitch. To prove to you that the position of seeker is pointless for me to play I would like you to release these five snitches and I will collect all five, blindfolded. You may time me if you wish." Harry said turning his back on Oliver so Hermione could tie a black ribbon over his eyes.

"Is he joking?" Katie Bell asked looking at the rest of the group and her team mates.

"He's not joking, this is how he practices at home. Harry is connected to the wards there too and he does this all the time for fun." Hermione said.

"Okay, let's see this." Oliver said letting the five snitches out of the box.

Harry handed oliver a stopwatch as he got on his broom. He cocked his head up and looked around for a second before smirking and taking off. Oliver hit the stopwatch as Harry climbed straight up until he looked tiny in the sky before he turned and dropped from the sky doing wide corkscrew turns as he dropped. He then arced to the left a bit and scooped one of the small gold balls out of the sky. He pocketed the ball as he jerked up and to the right in a power over loop and collected another one. He spun around and headed towards the Gryffindor stands at full speed and pulled up at the last second to scoop up another gold ball. He dove to the ground and at the last second pulled parallel with the grass and scooped up the second to the last ball and shot towards the base of the middle loop snatching the last snitch before diving at the group and landing right back in his place where he started from. He still had the blindfold on and he pulled the five gold balls out of his pocket.

"As you can see this part of the game is a joke to me. In fact I'm hesitant to even take the spot on the team. It would be cheating after all. I'll have to ask aunt Minerva about it." Harry said taking off the black ribbon. Oliver looked at the stopwatch and blinked a few times. That whole display of panic inducing blind flying only took half a minute and he was sure he was slow stopping the clock.

"Um, I'm not sure what to do at this point. I think we do need to consult with the Professor about this. For now, let's skip the seeker position and play six on six. I see you guys don't have pads…" Oliver started to say but again Harry cut him off.

"I can make them if I can get a close look at your pads Oliver." Harry said.

"Okay?" Oliver said.

"Yeah just take your pads off and I'll copy them for my team." Harry said and Oliver pulled off his pads. Harry took each pad and looked it over for a few seconds before handing it back to Oliver. When he got to the last gauntlet type glove he nodded, closed his eyes and waved at the ground next to him. A pile of black and red pads materialized. Harry waved at the pile and a set floated up to each of his friends. In seconds the group was geared up and ready to go.

"Right, you've never played better so would you like to…"

"Dean, Neville, grab a bat, you're our heavy hitters. Keep the twins busy. Sue you're in the rings. Hermione and Hannah we're on the ball. Michael inbound the ball. Team in the air the rest of you stay loose. We'll rotate out after the first game. We play first to ten if that's good with you Ollie?" Harry asked as his team shot up and lined up in the middle of the pitch waiting for the house team to meet them.

"I guess we're playing first to ten?" Oliver said with a head shaking chuckle.

From the second Michael tossed the ball up Harry's team destroyed the house team. Harry, Hermione and Hannah acted as one unit. They passed, dodged, and stole the ball at every turn. They never just went for the rings, they always attacked Oliver at the same time making him dive left or right so the other one could put it through the opposite ring. What made it worse was Susan was lights out in the rings and Neville and Dean kept the twins so busy they barely had a chance to take a shot at the chasers. In fact Neville managed to unseat Fred with a bludger to the chest as Harry scorer the last point. Harry saw Fred fall and stopped his descent with a wave of his hand as Hermione floated down to check on him.

"How is he?" Harry called out as the rest of the players flew over to check on him.

"He'll be fine. He has a few broken ribs and a concussion from the broom hitting him on the way down." She said casting a few spells at him.

"Should we rush him to the hospital wing?" Oliver asked looking worried.

"No, he'll be fine in a few minutes. But his day of flying around is over. He needs to sit down and take it ease for the spells to work." Hermione said as Fred came to.

"What happened?" He asked before he realized he was floating sixty feet in the air. "WHat the?"

"Relax Fred. I got you. Neville broke a few of your ribs and your head hit your broom when you fell." Harry said patting the twin on the shoulder.

"He hits like a bloody freight train. Good job." Fred said high fiving Neville.

"I took a glancing blow off you earlier and I can say you're no slouch." Neville said.

"Well let's float you down to the ground. You have to sit out the rest of the day to let your ribs heal." Harry said lowering Fred to the ground next to the rest of the group. "Let's keep this game going though. Let's have Dean join your team and let's get Michael and Terry at bat for my team. Hannah take a break. And Neville you're on the ball this game. Is that alright with you Ollie?" Harry asked looking to the team captain.

"Sure, maybe this time we'll score a point." Oliver said looking at his team who looked tired and wore out after ten minutes playing against the group.

"I'd like to say you have a chance but Neville jells better with me and Hermione. This is going to be fast, one sided, and very painful. Sorry?" Harry added at the end with a smirk.

"Yeah, I can see you're all broken up about it." Oliver said rolling his eyes.

Three minutes. That's all it took for Harry, Hermione, and Neville to score ten points. Three minutes of flat out, full speed, on the go play that had the house team looking as beaten as a racehorse at the finish line.

"I'm done!" Angelina Johnson said flying out of the pitch heading back to the castle. "He can have my spot! There is no way I keep it with these three." She said looking defeated.

"Angie! Come back! Just because they're good doesn't mean we don't need you!" Oliver called after her but she was gone.

"Why bother Ollie, by next week we won't be on the team. What's the point sticking around so they can show off some more." Alicia Spinnet said taking off after her her friend.

"I'm sorry Ollie. We didn't mean to… play that hard." Harry said trying to be as un-condescending as he could.

"It's fine Harry. But she is right. With your talents we have to start most of you. Like I said we'll have open tryouts for every position, but…" Oliver said shrugging as he looked at the remnants of his defeated team. 

"Ollie, we really didn't want to show off or take anyone's spot. We really just wanted to show you how good we are. You're all older than us, you're cooler, and we just really wanted to fit in." Harry said feeling bad about showboating.

"It's fine Harry, it's just a game." Oliver said causing the twins to look shocked.

"Well it's a game we won't be playing. Not if it causes a rift in the house. It's bad enough we show up every first year we have classes with. We don't need to step on our own house member's toes. We won't be trying out for the team. Come on guys, let's head back to the castle." Harry said leading the group away, even in their retreat they were flying in an arrow head formation.

"What did he just say?" Oliver asked looking shocked.

"He said they don't want to try out for the team." Katie said.

"But But…" Oliver said waving at the retreating group.

"I get it. Since day one the kid and his friends have been trying to gain the trust and respect of the house." George said.

"But come on!" Oliver said.

"We can't force them to try out. We can talk to them next week. For now we need to talk to Professor Mcgonagall about Harry playing seeker. I have a feeling she'll tell us we can't use Harry, but maybe we can get one of them to tryout for the job. We also need to talk to Angelina and Alicia. Come on Ollie. Let's head back." George said.

Harry lead the group right through the Gryffindor tower window they came in one at a time and hopped off their brooms. Harry let Ignis out of the stone and let him climb up on his shoulder. The group headed to the corner they staked out their first few nights and took seats around the table Harry made for them. Harry took his seat at the head of the small table and put his elbows on the table and put his chin in his hands. Blaze got up from his dog bed under the table and leaned against Harry's leg. Hermione reached over from her seat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"So much for the extra practice we put in on the home pitch." Dean said making the group chuckle.

"We have to try harder to fit in." Harry said reaching up to scratch Ignis's head.

"Says the man with the pet dragon." Neville said.

"You're right, I'm the one that sticks out like a sore thumb, but we need to fit in better as a group. Yesterday Sirius used me in a demonstration. Now every upperclassmen looks at me with fear in their eyes. It was stupid of him to ask me to do that and it was even dumber of me to do such a good job. They know I'm powerful but they didn't need to know I was that powerful. I let the game get to me and now they fear me. This is not how we're going to win hearts and minds. We want these people to follow us into the future. Embrace change and new ideas. We're trying to bring about change and making the people that you want on your side fear you is not a good way to do it. When we turn we need to call a meeting with the adults and tell them what's going on. For now let's get the homework out of the way, tomorrow we're going to dive deep into the mind arts for you newer members of the group. You guys need to master the ink trick so we can cut out this homework time. Spending time writing two foot of parchment on spells we can all do in our sleep is burning time we could be spending on learning new and more helpful things." Harry said summoning his bag from his room and pulling out the big book on mind healing he was reading. He had to finish it so he could start working on the mind healing tonic. Hermione for her part pulled a potions book the size of an old dictionary out of her bag of holding and went back to what she was reading.

The team came in at some point during the next hour and they saw the group hard at work so they didn't bother them. At dinner Oliver sat down with Harry and they talked about the team and how they could best help the house win the cup this year. Harry agreed to talk it over with the group and they ended the talk on a friendly level with Harry feeling much better about his position in the house. That night the group met up in Harry's trunk and turned back time. They headed through the door to the Granger's house. Emma greeted the kids with a big smile and a hug but when she saw Harry's shrugged shoulders and sad look she knew something was up. They all took portkeys to their houses with Michael heading to the guest room at the Grangers.

"Kids, what's wrong?" Emma asked.

"We're too powerful and oddball to fit in. Our plan to gain friends and allies in our house and the school as a whole is falling apart. I think we all miscalculated the plan. We need to call a meeting tomorrow and talk about this. As of right now we have pissed off a lot of people and thanks to Sirius I've made the upperclassmen terrified to be in the same room with me. I think we need to scrap most of the plan to fix the wizarding world's problems. As of now, in the eyes of our schoolmates, I'm a freak and the rest of the group are my cult followers. Right now I need to get some sleep." Harry said heading to his room.

"Wow, it's that bad ha?" Emma asked.

"Harry's need to impress people has the whole group looking like show offs. We also need to talk to the old man at some point. I'm afraid of what he'll say is going on with our still alive dark lord and all the other things he's done in the past. It's bad Mum. and every time Harry tries to fix it he makes it worse. Amelia's tactics for maneuvering Harry to be the future leader of the wizarding world are all backfiring." Hermione said looking tired.

"well get some sleep and we'll see what we can do to fix it in the morning." Emma said hugging her daughter one more time before she headed off to bed.

The next morning followed Harry's normal routine. Blaze got up at six and got Harry up so he could go outside. The only change to his normal routine was Letting Ignis crawl up his arm and perch on his shoulder. That morning Amelia and Susan came over for breakfast followed by Aurora and Sirius. Harry made them all plates and he laid out his problems over breakfast.

"I'm sorry pup I didn't think about the consequences before I had you work with the upperclassmen." Sirius said.

"It's fine Sirius, I'm finding out that most of what we've done over the last week has been done without much forethought. I showed off so much that I've made more than half the school uncomfortable around me. We were supposed to make friends with everyone in the school so we could start spreading new ideas to the rest of the kids in the school. They use birds to deliver mail for God's sake. It's so backwards. How are we going to stamp out Pureblood ideas and old rhetoric if the world still runs on old technology?" Harry said shaking his head.

"It gets worse I'm afraid. The goblins want you to stop making so much precious metals and stones. You're messing with the economy. You can still make it and stockpile it but try to keep it out of the market for a while. If you want to make things that's fine but if you make too much gold, platinum, silver, and gemstones the economy will tank." Aurora said.

"Right, I didn't think about that. Crap." Harry said.

"It's okay for know but the gold you made for the hospital, that has to be the last big gold drop you do." She said patting him on the shoulder as he dropped his head in his hands.

"This whole two weeks have been a wash. Everything I did this week made me into a glory seeking, show off, jerk." Harry said.

"Harry we need to talk to you right now." Hermione said pulling him away with Susan.

"What's going on?" Harry asked looking to his partner.

"I hate to break it to you Harry but you've been acting like a glory seeking jerk for a lot longer than a week. Ever since you've started taking advice from the adults you've been showboating. Bosting. Acting like a hero. I've been behind you this whole time because I'm your friend and in a way I am your apprentice, but all of this plotting and scheming needs to stop. You're a Jedi. Start acting like one. Leave all the scheming to these adults. Jedi do good with their deeds. Stop thinking about making alliances, being a leader, or whatever else these adults have been telling you. Just be you. You're walking around the school with your dragon trying to play politics like a future king. Instead let's work on getting Neville's parents up. Let's work on the ten potions we have waiting for testing. Let's get to work Harry. We need to reset." Hermione said locking eyes with Harry.

"How long have you been sitting on that?" Harry asked.

"Two weeks, and I'm not the only one that feels this way. Neville and Sue agree." Hermione said.

"Sue?" Harry asked.

"It's true Harry, you're doing too much." Susan said.

"Okay. First off, if you think I'm being a jerk then you need to let me know faster next time. Secondly, if you say I need to change then let's fix this. From now on we take their council, but we, the group, make the decisions about our lives. Agreed?" Harry asked looking at the two girls.

"Agreed." Hermione said as Susan nodded.

"Okay then, Adults!" Harry called out to the group as they walked back to the table. "After a discussion with my two trusted advisors, we've come to a few decisions. First off, it's been confirmed that I've been acting like a jerk for a lot longer than a week. To curb this bad behavior I've decided to go back to being a jedi and stop worrying about everything. I will leave the political scheming to you fine adults. I will go back to my original plan of helping the world with my deeds and not my words. We, the group, will dedicate our time and effort to helping Neville's parents and then finish the testing on the ten potions recipes we have in the works. After that we will look into maybe trying out for the quidditch team. If not then we'll play for fun on the weekends. My point is we don't need to worry about purebloods, the fact that the wizarding world runs a whole century behind the regular world, or the idea of being a political leader for the next generation of wizards. If this is unsatisfactory to you adults then I don't know what to say to you. Our way of doing things got us this far, your way of scheming and plotting to gain the favor of powerful people has turned me into an asshat and the group into a cult following my ways. I think a few weeks of keeping our heads down and completing our work will gain us more favor with the other students then any plots you guys can come up with. As for the gold, I'll stop making it, but I will continue to make nice things for friends." Harry said.

"But Harry, you have the chance to be a leader of the community one day." Amelia said looking at him like he was mad.

"And maybe one day I will, but until then my deeds will speak louder than my words. I'll still fight the Dark lord, and keep the old man in line. I'll even make friends with the other kids in school, but from now on I'm going to stop being a show off. It's very un-jedi like thing to do so." Harry said.

"I say good on you Pup. If you think this is better for you then I say go for it." Sirius said.

"I just have to ask if you've lost your mind? You can't let minor setbacks dissuade you from building a better future." Amelia asked looking shocked.

"Aunty!" Susan said looking appalled.

"What? He has a name! He has power! He could lead this country today if he wanted to. He has a responsibility to…" Amelia started to rant but she stopped when Harry laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Amelia, I understand everything you're saying. I get it and yesterday you would have been right, but the fact that I could be minister today means that I shouldn't. I'm eleven. I have a name and power. I even let you talk me into going for it but it's not for me. I understand the old man, I do. He probably started out on the same path you had me on. But unlike me he didn't have someone to tell him to get his head out of his own ass. I also understand you. You fought a war for a country that did nothing to fix the problems that caused the war in the first place and you had to claw your way to the top. And I'm also not saying you wrong. You're probably right. One day the people will call on me to run for office, or something like that. But not now. Not when we have more important things to do. You have my support. You both do. If you need me to make a speech or accept an Order of Merlin or whatever you need then I'm your man. But gaining allies, and fostering political ties with other houses is out the window. I'm also done showing off. No more class demonstrations, or anything like that. Now if you'll excuse me we have work to do. Real work. Neville's parents have been shells of their former selves for more than a decade. That ends now." Harry said patting Amelia on the back as he headed for the shed with Hermione and Susan.

"Did he just talk to me like I was a small child?" Amelia asked.

"He did dear, and he's not wrong. He tried your way for two weeks and the group as a whole are being stared at in the hallways. Let him try his way for now. Later on if he finds that he would like to run for office or something like that then you can sheppard him into office, but for now, let him work." Aurora said with an easy smile.

"But how can he not…"

"Let it go Amelia, my son is very hard headed if he's made up his mind and my daughter is with him them that's how it's going to be. Now let us get back to talking about normal things like we are normal people. Aurora how bad are your hormones because of the potion the kids gave you? Mine are off the charts." Emma said.

"The worst." Sirius said before he stopped himself but it was too late. The words tumbled out of his mouth and like pulling the pin on a grenade and tossing the pin instead of the grenade he knew he was screwed. He turned slowly to look at his wife and saw a dragon's eyes staring back at him.

"The worst?" She asked in a voice that froze the air around her and made every warning bell in his head go off all at once.

"Um, well you know what I mean dear, you spend a lot of time crying and I hate to see you cry. Especially when I can't doing anything to help you and it makes me feel like crap and I'll just stop talking now." Sirius said flinching as he waiting for the explosion. He was sure he managed to kick the gernade out of his fox hole but he was sure he was still going to lose an arm or a leg. Instead she hugged him and started crying.

"I'm sorry you feel like that." She said.

"It's not your fault it's no one's fault. It's the potion's fault. Harry better be right about this one." Sirius said breaking the tension and making everyone laugh.

"I'm sure they both are." Emma said laughing along with the group. Michael wandered out the back door in his robe and slippers and took a seat at the table still looking half asleep.

"What did I miss? Anything good? You guys get up way too early." He said yawning. This caused the grown ups sitting at the table to laugh again.

Harry and Hermione spent the weekend and the the first half of the third week of school working on the mind healing potion. Six up days and fifteen turned day were spent deep in study of old tomes and potions texts. By Monday they started testing potion concoctions to find the right mix of old and new magics that complemented each other and didn't explode. Neville and Susan spent the time tutoring the rest of the group on the basics of the ink transfer spell and the basics of meditation and the mind arts. Everyone noticed the new shift in focus for the group. The twins who were looking forward to having fun with the group tried to engage then for a game of cards or to talk about a prank they wanted to pull but Harry sat them down and explained they were working on something very important and they needed to stick with it. The twins were gutted for a few minutes but they nodded and let the group work. It helped that Harry handed them a sack of candy bars and sodas. Percy and Penny saw how hard they were working and they were happy to see the group taking their work seriously. By wednesday night they were sure they had the potion right. It took a lot of hard work to brew and it glowed with magic when Harry added the last few drops of ginseng root extract. Harry floated the liquid out of the gold cauldron and into 60 small test tubes setting in a rack. He waved at the rack full of glass and corked them all before he dropped back into his seat next to Hermione. They were using the brewing station he set up in his trunk and it was way after midnight.

"You think it will work?" Harry asked wiping the sweat off his brow.

"I have no clue until we see it work. It's based on other mind healing tonics and everything we researched lead us to this mix but until we see it working we won't know for sure. But I hope it works." She said dropping her head on his shoulder as she drifted off.

They had been working for twenty hours straight to brew the volatile mix, but it was worth it. They had enough mind healing tonic to heal the Longbottoms and enough to give to St. Mongo's so they could test it on the hospital wing full of patients suffering the same fate as Neville's folks. If this worked like they hoped it would, it would be enough to earn themselves an Order of Merlin third class as well as a commendation from the potion master's guild. Something the Corners had six of. They would hand a set of three doses off to the Corners in the morning for testing and as soon as they gave them the go ahead they were going to take it to Longbottom manor. Harry looked down at his sleeping partner and floated her to the couch. He was going to head off to his bed in the trunk but she held onto his arm and moaned in her sleep as he tried to pull away. He relented and slipped in next to her on his oversized couch. He waved their shoes off and took the blanket off the back of the couch and floated it over them before he too gave into sleep. The two dogs looked up from their bed in the corner and saw their two humans on the same couch and they shared a look between them before they shrugged and went back to sleep.

Neville woke up the next morning in his bed in his trunk. He changed back into his pants and shirt and headed out of his trunk to find two dogs looking at the bedroom door.

"Hey guys, where are Harry and Hermione?" He asked as he tossed on his shoes and grabbed the extra leashes Harry kept by his bed. He leashed up the dogs and took them down to the common room where he saw Susan with a confused look on her face. "Good you're up. You can help me get the dogs out." Neville said grabbing the two brooms leaning up against the corner the group claimed as their spot. He got on one of the brooms and Blaze hopped into the harness in front of him. Neville locked him in as Susan followed his lead with the other broom. They flew out the common room window and head down to the tree by the lake the dogs had picked out as their spot. They let them go and the dogs did their business.

"I wonder what happened to Harry and Hermione?" Susan said.

"They must have fallen asleep in the Harry's trunk. They were brewing all afternoon and they were both still deep in work when I checked on them at ten before I headed off to bed last night." Neville said looking nervous.

"Thinking about your parents?" Susan asked softly as she put her arm around his big shoulders.

"Yeah." Neville said nodding.

"Are you worried they won't be able to complete the potion?" She asked.

"No, I know they can. My brother Harry made me a promise and I know I can count on him." He said looking confident for a few seconds before his shoulders slumped down a bit again.

"Then what are you worried about? You are maybe a day or so away from healing your parents. You should be excited." She said.

"I am, but I'm also worried they might not… I don't know? Any number of things." Neville said watching the dogs run around a bit after doing their business.

"Neville, don't be silly. They are going to wake up, be very confused for a few minutes and after they know who you are and what year it is they are going to do two things. They're going to hold you, and tell you that they love you. Now let's get the dogs back up to the common room and go check on Harry and Hermione." Susan said patting him on the back she went to pull away but he grabbed her in a big hug.

"Thanks Sue. I've been thinking about this for a week now and I didn't want to say anything but… thank you." He said before he pulled away blushing.

"Neville, you're my friend. You never have to hold something like that in. You can always come to me for things like that." She said with a gentle smile.

They rounded up the dogs with a firm word and they flew back into the common room as Hannah and Dean came looking for them. They all headed back up to the boys dorm room and Neville opened Harry's trunk they walked down the steps and saw the two on the couch. Hermione was snoring softly as she lay on Harry's chest. They approached the couch and when they got ten feet from it Harry's eyes shot open and locked on Neville. He was confused for a second until he looked down and saw Hermione. Neville and Sue smirked and Neville backed the group out of the trunk silently. When the trunk lid was closed Hermione looked up at Harry and blushed.

"Who?" She asked.

"Neville, Sue, Hannah, and Dean." Harry said without missing a beat.

"Okay. Well, this is…" She said rolling off Harry and sitting up on the couch.

"Look, you were knocked out, I put you on the couch but you didn't want to let go and I was really tired and well. I tucked in next to you." Harry said sitting up.

"Right, this was, totally fine." She said with bright red ears and cheeks.

"Okay then, I'm um, going to head up and get a shower. I think we have a light day today. But we should drop off the three samples to the Corners before breakfast so they can get started." Harry rambled.

"Yes, I think I'll do the same, In my bathroom though!" She added quickly.

"I kind of figured." Harry said walking up the stairs.

Hermione took the door to her trunk and stepped out. She came face to face with a room full of girls.

"So you slept on Harry?" Susan asked with a smirk.

"Yes, and we were both fully clothed." She defended.

"The lady doth protest too much." Padma muttered causing the rest of the girls to giggle.

"I don't have to put up with you lot." Hermione grumbled as she gathered clothes.

"Oh will you just relax, we're just kidding, but it's not like you two are not going to end up together. You just got a taste of the future. How was it?" Susan asked with a big grin. Hermione turned back to look at the group and rolled her eyes at the looks of anticipation on the girl's faces. She was going to toss a smart answer back at them but then she thought about it and a smile blossomed across her lips.

"Comfortable, and warm, and perfect." She said in a voice that was more dreamy than she was expecting.

"Good." Susan said hugging her as the girls went back to getting dressed as they chatted and giggled.

They dropped the three glowing potions off with the Corners before heading down to breakfast and Mary got straight to work leaving Marcus to take care of classes for the day. From the first round of test she knew she was working with a very powerful potion and that meant she had to be very careful but she also knew the importance of completing the testing as fast as she could so they could get the Longbottoms out of bed. She worked diligently and she double and triple checked all of her results. She also made sure to record everything so she could hand over a full certification signed by a potions master. She worked hard to make sure she covered every test she could think of before she put her magical signature on the proofing documents. It was required by law that she sing off on the potion before it could be administered to anyone in a hospital. She was in essence staking her reputation as a master of potions on the safety of the potion that was created. If at any point someone got really hurt or died from taking the potion it would fall on both the kid's heads but also on her head as well. But even with all that she was done with her work just before dinner. She filled out the Proofing documents and added her blood signature at the bottom. She looked at her watch and saw it was ten minutes to five. She rushed into her her bedroom, down into the trunk she shared with her husband and through the door to the Granger's house. She ran down the stairs and saw Emma sitting in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Emma asked.

"I just finished the proofing documents and I need to get them to the ministry before the office closes!" Mary said looking at her watch.

"Why don't you take the door to Amelia's trunk? She has it in her office." Emma said.

"She does?" Mary asked.

"Yeah, come on." Emma said leading her back up the stairs two at a time. She grabbed a blue wizard's robe off a coat rack next to the door and hit the rune for Amelia's trunk they ran through and out the trunk lid interrupting a meeting Amelia was having.

"Where's the fire?" Amelia asked.

"I can't talk I need to file these Proofing documents!" Mary called out as she all but ran out of Amelia's office.

"I swear that girl loves to do things the hard way." Amelia said hitting a red gem on her desk. "Magre, called the potion's office and tell them to stay open we have a priority filing." She said.

"Right away director!" Came a response.

"I think we can move the rest of this meeting to tomorrow Kingsley. I think this is important." Amelia said.

"Of course Director." The tall dark man in the red Auror robes sad as he stood from his seat and walked out of the office.

"You didn't have to cancel your meeting Amelia, I'll just head back to the house." Emma said.

"You don't have too. Have had dinner yet?" Amelia asked looking at her watch.

"No, I was going to make a salad. The kids won't be by today. They said they needed the time to work on the potion. Which they finished. Which means they might show up tonight." Emma said trying to figure out what day it was.

"Wow that's complicated." Amelia said.

"You have no idea. With our house acting like the central hub for the kids you never know when someone might come through the door and for what reason. Mostly I just go with the flow of things." Emma said dropping into the seat across from Amelia.

"Well maybe I can take you and Dan out to dinner." Amelia said.

"It's just me for the night. Sirius took Dan, Ray, Ravi, and Sam to the Quidditch game, the Wasps and Harpies I think. The game starts at six but they wanted to get there early to see the two teams practice." Emma said.

"They just want to watch the Harpies stretch and fly." Amelia said laughing.

"Let me guess, the Harpies have a lot of women on the team?" Emma asked.

"The Harpies are the only all female team in the league. You have to meet certain level of beauty to even try out. I would call it a stunt to sell more tickets but they have one of the highest scoring teams in the league. I can tell you this much your daughter and my Susan are going to be prime recruitment candidates for the Harpies if they play on the house team." Amelia said as Mary came in and dropped into the chair next to Emma looking dead.

"Well, it's official, the kids have their first registered potion filed with the potion's department." Mary said.

"You look dead, have you eaten yet?" Amelia asked.

"No, I've been working straight through since this morning so I could file this today. I knew what was at stake with this." Mary said holding the rolled up scroll.

"Well the kids can't do anything until tonight when they turn back time. So with your work complete, lets go eat." Amelia said.

"I'm starving, I nibbled on a bit of a sandwich earlier." Mary said.

"We'll go collect Aurora and head to Crabtree's bistro by the bank. I could really go for a steak." Amelia said standing up and putting on her robes.

When the kids turned back time and came through the door that night they found the women sitting in the living room making their way through a bottle of wine.

"Kids, I filed your potion with the potion department. You can administer the potion anytime you want and I know a few healers at the hospital. I can set up a meeting and get your potion into the hospital." Mary said.

"Great!" Harry said looking excited.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day Harry and Hermione headed over to Neville's house. They had to take a portkey and it landed them in the entryway of Longbottom manor. Neville was waiting for them when they landed and he hugged the two of them. He didn't say a word and he didn't need to they all understood what he meant. He lead them upstairs to a bedroom where Augusta was sitting in a chair looking at her son and daughter in law lying on the bed. They were hooked up to IV lines and they had nutrient bags hook to the IV. On the bed side table was a case full of Harry's healing tonic. For two bed ridden people they both looked to be in peak physical health thanks to the healing tonic and the IV bags. Augusta shot out of her chair with a speed and grace that spoke of her new diet and potions regiment and hugged the two.

"I just want to say thank you to the both of you." She said looking at the two.

"We're doing this for Neville. He's our best friend and brother. Now let's see if this works. Hermione, you can administer Neville's mom's dose, I'll work on his dad." Harry said handing her a white test tube.

At almost the same time they poured the glowing white potion into the mouths of Neville's parents and used a spell to make them swallow it. They stepped back and a white glow formed around their heads. Harry checked the time, and made two more chairs next to Augusta.

"It's 10:03, mark that down please Hermione?" Harry said to Hermione who pulled out a clip board and took notes as they took their seats. "In theory this will take some time to undo all the damage they suffered. This could take an hour, or it could take ten hours. It all depends on the amount of damage they suffered. This is the first time we've used this potion. This will tell us what this potion is made of. If they both get up fast then we know we have a very powerful concoction on our hands. If we're still sitting here in ten hours then we might have to go back to the drawing board to come up with something stronger. These two are the worst case of curse damage the hospital ever saw. We're hoping this works fast and heals every bit of damage." Harry said to Neville and his Gran.

"So we just sit and wait?" Neville asked looking nervous.

"Yes, but if you need to we can do something to take your mind off all of this." Harry said looking to Hermione. She nodded and Harry stood up.

"Can we please do something? I don't know if I can just sit here." Neville said looking disappointed in himself for not being able to sit quietly.

"Sure, come on. You told me there was a curio shop in town that had a lot of cool stuff, let's take a ride into town and go check it out. Maybe we'll stop off at a pub or dinner for something to eat after that. As soon as something happens Hermione can call me." Harry said.

"I think I need to get out of this room." Neville said looking to his parents one more time before walking out of the room. Augusta looked like she wanted to say something but she held it in. Harry saw this and took her hand.

"I'll look out for him Gran. Don't worry and as soon as they get up call me and I'll portkey him back to the house." Harry said before rushing out of the room to catch up with Neville who was by the front door getting his leather jacket out of the front closet. Harry walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Neville said walking out the big front door. He pulled a shrunken Royal Enfield motorbike with red gas tank and fenders out of his bag of holding and expanded it in the big driveway in front of his huge manor house. Harry followed his lead. When they mounted up Harry looked to his brother in all but blood and smiled at him.

"You lead the way. Go as fast as you need to." He said and Neville nodded before he took off down the long cobbled stone driveway.

They blasted to the big front gate and when they approached the gate flew open to let them out before it slammed shut behind them. Looking back Harry saw a hedge row and nothing else. The Longbottom manor house was under so many wards and protections it was invisible to even his mage sight. He was one of only five people to have access to the wards to make a portkey to the house. Harry followed his brother down the winding two lane back road heading into town. Longbottom Manor was located in north Somerset and it was a good twenty minute ride into town even at the fast pace Neville was setting. When they got to the village proper Neville slowed all the way down to a nice pedestrian pace and Harry rolled up to ride next to him at a stop sign. Neville led him to a small shop off a side street next to an old pub called the Fox and the Hound. As soon as they got close Harry could feel the magical items inside the shop. They parked and as they were taking their helmets off Neville stood next to Harry.

"Hey Harry, thanks." He said not looking at him as he said it.

"Don't mention it, but I have to tell you I'm going to be thanking you for showing me this place. We're going to rack up in here I'm glad I started carrying cash." Harry said looking at the shop. There was a sign over the door proclaiming the shop to be "one man's treasures" in gold letters on a green background.

"You feel it too?" Neville asked before he laughed. "Of course you feel it, what am I saying? But this is the first time I've ever felt anything." Neville said.

"You're getting stronger brother. As you gain power you start to gain a mage sense. At a certain power threshold you'll be able to feel out for hundreds of feet and be able to pinpoint the smallest enchantment on an object. Let's make this a game. We'll go into the shop and you pick out all the things with enchantments and let's see how many you get." Harry said.

"Loser pays for Fish and Chips?" Neville asked holding out his hand.

"If you wanted to pick up the tab for lunch you could have just said so." Harry shot back laughing as Neville socked him in the shoulder.

"Prat." Neville said with a smile as he walked into the shop.

The little junk shop was full of small bits and bobs of varying value and worth. The shop was run by an older lady in her 60's and a girl in her twenties that looked like her granddaughter both women smiled at Neville when he walked in.

"Hello dear. I'm Vera, was their something you were looking for?" The older lady asked.

"I'm not sure but I'll know when I see it." Neville said as Harry walked into the shop behind him.

"Well if you have any questions just ask away." The old lady said with a warm smile, but her eyes lingered on Harry just a bit too long. Something Neville missed but Harry did not.

As Neville headed off into the shop trying to find all the magical items Harry walked up to the counter. Harry smiled at the old lady and she returned it but her eyes kept darting up to the scar on his forehead. Harry held out his hand and the old lady took it.

"Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you Vera. You have quite a lot of nice things in this shop." Harry said feeling out with his magic for her core. She saw a week witch, barely over the squib level.

"Harry Potter?" She asked looking shocked.

"Yes, and you are?" Harry asked with a charming smile.

"Right! I forgot my manners altogether for a minute there. Vera Hart." She said looking like she wanted to say more but she saw her granddaughter dusting off a shelf near by.

"Vera, we both know who I am, there is no need to say anything." Harry said softly.

"Thank you." Vera said with a thankful smile that turned into a nasty cough. Harry subtly waved his hand at the woman and cast a monitoring charm on her as the girl walked into a back room.

"Do you practice?" Harry asked.

"No, I never had a formal education and I was disowned by my family for not having the gift." She said trying to recover from her cough.

"I'm sorry to hear that, But Vera, you do know you have a magical flu right?" Harry asked.

"Really?" She asked. "Is that why the cold medicine isn't working?" She asked.

"Most likely. Here, take this." Harry said pulling three vials of pepper up out of his bag and a small flask of glowing healing tonic. "This red one should break the cold and take two teaspoons of the glowing healing tonic three times a day until the bottle runs out and you should feel way better in a few days." Harry said.

"How very generous of you to just hand over these…" She started to say but Harry cut her off.

"It's nothing, really. I keep a full stock of potions on me at all times and I make batches constantly to keep my skills up." Harry said as the girl came over with a glass of water.

"Gran, are you alright? I heard you coughing again." The girl said handing her the glass.

"It's fine dear. I…" Vera started to say but then she looked down at the four glas bottle in her hand. "Harry, would you mind helping me explain things to my Granddaughter Cassie?" Vera asked.

"Not at all. Cassie?" Harry said turning to the tall thin girl with soft brown eyes and dark hair. "Magic is real. Not magicians or anything like that I mean real magic. In fact," Harry stopped mid sentence and cast a monitoring spell on the girl and saw she had just a slightly better core than her grandmother. "You have the gift just like your gran." Harry said.

"What?" Cassie asked looking at Harry like he was nuts.

"Look I can prove it. Do you like dogs? How would you like a Puppy?" Harry asked conjuring a small golden lab puppy out of thin air.

"WHat!?" Cassie said looking ready to pass out and scream at the same time. The puppy lept out of Harry's hand and jumped into Cassie's arms. Cassie caught the little dog and it licked her face. That broke her out of her stupper. "But, How?" She asked as Neville came back to the counter with an armload of things.

"Hey Harry, did I get them all?" Neville asked setting a pocket knife, a gold pill box, a silver goblet, a silver bracelet, a gold ring with a red stone, and a silver brooch on the counter.

"Um, let's see, no you missed two things." Harry said with a smirk.

"Damn, I was sure I got them all." Neville said walking back into the shelves.

"Are all of these things magical?" Vera asked looking at the odd assortment of items on the counter.

"Yes, I can tell you what each of these things do if you like?" Harry asked and at her excited nod he picked up the first item and felt for the enchantments on it. "this pocket knife can open locked doors, this gold pill box is a shrunken storage box, this cup chills your drink as you drink it, this bracelet has a minor shield charm on it, the same thing with this brooch, and the ring has an… oh," Harry said holding the ring and feeling the enchantments. "Not cool. This ring has a love spell on it. Very nasty bit of work." Harry said making a face.

"And to think I sell this stuff as junk and and antiques to normal people. Can any of this hurt someone" Vera asked looking mildly shocked.

"The ring could, but I wouldn't worry about it too much Vera, it happens all the time. I've been to a few shops like this and every time I walk out with a few items like these. Magicals die and their things get sold at estate sales if no one's left to claim it. Then it ends up in unsuspecting muggle hands. There's a whole department in the ministry dedicated to collecting these things. I take them and study the enchantments. I then destroy bad or dark items like this ring or I give them to friends as little gifts." Harry said.

"I got that ring from an estate sale two weeks ago." Vera said.

"See, it happens all the time." Harry said as Neville came back with two hand mirrors.

"This is it right? A set of communications mirrors right?" Neville asked.

"No, you missed that tea set on the shelf. It has a very minor enchantment that keeps your tea warm." Harry said summoning the wicker basket with the tea set off a shelf and setting it on the counter.

"Harry are you nuts?" Neville asked looking at the two women.

"Relax Neville. They both have cores, a bit on the weak end but Cassie here could cast spells if she was matched to a good wand. I'd try Ollivanders in the alley. Have you been to the alley?" Harry asked.

"Not in a long time. Not since I was kicked out of my house in 1949." Vera said sadly.

"You know, you might be the last of your family. The war took out a lot of houses. Even if you were disowned I'm sure the goblins can do something for you, you never know Vera, you might hold a claim to an estate. What was your family name?" Harry asked thinking about what Andy said about broken lines.

"Lestrange." Vera said causing Neville to drop the tea cup he was looking at.

"What?" Neville said in a deadly cold voice that spiked fear in both Vera and Cassie.

"Neville." Harry said.

"DId you just say Lestrange!?" Neville said causing the nick nacks on the shelves to shake.

"Neville!" Harry said grabbing his friend's arm and making him turn to look at him in the eyes.

"Harry…"

"No you listen to me. She was kicked out of her family for being a squib. She is not her family, just like Andy and Sirius are not their family. If you don't have a problem with them then why would you have a problem with these two? Now cap your magic before I have to cap it for you." Harry said. Neville took a deep breath and turned back to the women with a sad and regretful look on his face.

"I'm sorry for the outburst." Neville said.

"No, I'm sorry for what ever my dark and horrible family did to you. Growing up in that house I knew they were evil. When my letter didn't come I was dropped off at an orphanage with barely a word of why. My mother handed me a small sack of gold coins and that was the last I ever saw of them." Vera said looking just as somber.

"Gran, you've never said any of this before, did mum know?" Cassie asked looking like she was on the verge of tears.

"No dear, your mother never knew." Vera said as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Look, this is obviously a bigger hornet's nest then any of us wanted to kick over. I think we can all use a bit of context, Cassie looks like she could use a good stiff drink as well. Why don't we have Neville and Cassie head to the pub next door and get a few orders and fish and chips to go and we'll sit down and talk about all of this. Vera, as far as I know all of the members of your house are either dead or in prison. If that's true then the head of house title is yours and along with the title is a seat on the Wizengamot. Now I'm not sure if you can sit in that seat but Cassie I think can. What we need to do is call Andy, she my Law witch and have her look into your status." Harry said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea Harry." Neville said leading a shell shocked Cassie out of the shop. When they were gone Harry pulled out his phone and called Andy. Her assistant put him on hold. Harry checked his watch.

"She's probably in a meeting. Vera, I noticed you spoke of Cassie's mom in the past tense?" Harry let the question hang in the air.

"Yes, my daughter Margery died in a car crash a few years ago, her father shuffled off when Margery got pregnant. Cassie is the only family I have." Vera said dropping into her chair behind the counter as she started to cough again.

"Take the Pepper up Vera, it will help with your cold." Harry said as Andy came on the line. "Hey Andy, I'm standing with the last true head of the Lestrange house. She was orphaned as a young girl, is there any legal…. that's what I wanted to hear. We'll bring her to the house later so you can talk to her... No I just stumbled in to a curio shop and started talking to her and figured it out from what you told me before… yeah, my luck is right." Harry said hanging up as he shook his head.

"This is all crazy." Vera said as steam shot out of her ears from the pepper up.

"Says you, I stopped by this shop to take Neville's mind off the fact that his parents are going to be coming out of a coma for the first time in ten years that I'm guessing your nephew and his wife put them in. I'd say small world but I think magic is actively messing with me now." Harry said.

"My dear God, no wonder the boy looked like he wanted to kill me. I don't blame him." Vera said looking shocked.

"Yes well, what can you do about it but help when you can? Let fix this cup and square up this purchase before they get back. How much do I owe you?" Harry asked pulling a billfold out of his bag. He pulled a big stack of hundred pound notes out and looked at Vera waiting for a price.

"Um lets see, um the ring is priced at 100 pounds and the Brooch is 60 pounds." She said looking at the items on the counter as she punched in numbers in the old fashioned cash register. That's when Harry's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Harry answered.

"Harry, get back here now! The glow is dying down around Alice. I think she's getting ready to get up!" Hermione said sounding anxious.

"Right we'll be there in a few minutes." Harry said hanging up.

"Something wrong?" Vera asked.

"Neville's parents are getting up. You have a total?" Harry asked.

"Yes it's, 867 pounds." She said.

"Here is 900 pounds. Keep the change. Look, why don't you come with us so we can take you back to the house later to talk to Andy, I'll go get those two why don't you close up shop?" Harry said shrinking things and putting them in his bag.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Vera asked.

"Yes, hurry up, we need to get going." Harry said rushing out of the shop. He opened the door to the pub and saw Neville and Cassie getting a togo bag. "Nev your mum is getting up, let's go." Harry said causing the two of them to rush out of the pub with the bag. Harry shrank the bikes and Vera came out of the shop in her coat carrying two bags and a jacket. She locked the door and tossed Cassie the jacket and handbag. Harry held out an over sized key with the name Longbottom on it.

"Everyone touch the key." Harry said casting a privacy spell around the group to hide their departure. When they all touched the key Harry took the puppy from Cassie and said go. They were flying through the air and then they were in the entryway of the manor. Neville looked at Harry as they helped the women off the floor. "Go. I'll be up in a minute." Harry said.

"Yeah, this is it, isn't it Harry?" Neville asked looking nervous.

"Neville, get your ass up those stairs, GO." Harry said shooting a lighting bolt out of his finger into Neville's ass making him jump two foot into the air. He hit the ground running and in seconds he was up the stairs and out of sight. "He's a good kid but he needs a good kick in the ass every once in awhile. I can send you on your way to the house now or you guys can hang out here for a few hours the choice is your's. Either way can I get two orders of food?" Harry asked handing Cassie the puppy back.

"Um yeah, here." She said grabbing two of the paper bags and handing them to him. "We'll stay here, we'll find a place to sit and eat. We're going to need to feed this guy too." Cassie said looking at the puppy.

"You don't need to, he's not a real dog. He's a conjured object that I gave a personality to. Think of him like a robot dog. I'm not sure how he works but I know he doesn't need to eat or anything like that. Honestly if anyone else would have cast that spell the dog would have vanished by now. I kind of feel bad for making the thing without thinking about it." Harry said petting the happy puppy.

"That's so strange Harry." Cassie said.

"Welcome to the magical world. I'll have a house elf look after you." Harry said before rushing up the stairs.

Harry ran to the room where the Longbottoms were staying and found Alice up and holding Neville as Augusta cried in her seat and Hermione tried desperately to cast spells on Alice. Harry laughed and patted Hermione on the back. He took the seat next to Augusta and she grabbed his arm and hugged him.

"Thank you Harry." She said through her tears.

"I did it for my brother. Have you eaten today?" Harry asked.

"No." She said.

"Here have some of this, can you call a house elf?" Harry asked.

"Mopsy!" She called and a tall we'll built house elf in red and gold robes popped into the room.

"You called My Lady?" The elf asked in perfect queen's english.

"Actually I need you to look after the two ladies in the entry hall make sure they have a place to eat lunch and keep them entertained until we go." Harry asked.

"Yes sir." The elf said before popping away.

"You brought guests Harry?" Augusta asked.

"Yes, I'll tell you all about it but for now I have to conduct some test to check up on Alice first." Harry said taking off his leather jacket and leaving it on the chair. He went over to Hermione who looked torn. She wanted to break them up to cast the spell to see if Alice was fully healed but she didn't want to break up the reunion.

"How is she? Did she seem confused?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Yes and no. I think their minds were awake all the time they were under. It's like they were locked inside their own heads. At least that's what Alice said. After I ended the call with you the glowing stopped and she shot out of bed in a panic. I calmed her down and she asked for Neville, we told her he was on his way and then she said she heard everything. She said she knew what happened. Neville used to visit them and tell them about his life, apparently most of that stuck for her. Frank looks to be more damaged. We'll see what he's like when he gets up. So far he's been under fifteen more minutes then Alice." Hermione said checking her watch.

"Hey Nev, we need to run some test." Harry said tapping his brother on the shoulder. He found himself in the hug being smashed by the bigger boy. "Nev, this is great but we need to do these scans." Harry gasped out.

"RIght Sorry." Neville said letting go. He wiped his eyes and smiled. "Mum this is my best friend Harry Potter, Harry and Hermione are the ones that healed you." He said holding Harry by his shoulders.

"Neville would have done the same for me. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Longbottom." Harry said.

"None of that Harry, I was supposed to be your Godmother." Alice said hugging Harry to her chest.

"Really?" Harry asked looking shocked he wanted to ask more questions but Hermione elbowed him. "Right sorry, Hermione needs to run scans on you to see how you're doing." Harry said pulling back so Hermione could get closer.

"Alice, I need you to look at my had." Hermione said as she cast the mind monitoring spell on her. "Good your scans are nice and clear. Your physical health is good as well thanks to the healing tonic. Your core is a bit weak but that is to be expected after not using it for ten years. With normal use your numbers should come back up. For now I'm going to prescribe a mild power booster tonic to be taken everyday to help your numbers along." Hermione said pulling a leather case out of her bag and expanding it. She pulled a flask of potion out and set it on the bedside table. "One teaspoon every morning when you first wake up. Harry can you make her a dose cup?" Hermione asked putting away her medical kit.

"Sure, this shot glass has a marking for one teaspoon. Up to the line but no more. You could hurt yourself if you take too much." Harry said waving a shot glass out of thin air and setting it next to the potion on the bed side table.

"Thank you kids, I'm not too familiar with you young Lady, just what Neville has told me in the past few weeks but I can say this with some certainty, Lily would be very proud of you Harry." Alice said hugging the two one more time with a soft smile.

"So you were going to be my Godmother?" Harry asked really wanting to get the story but Hermione elbowed him again.

"Harry, I think we've taken up enough of Alice's time for now, let's let her and Neville talk. We need to run scans on Frank." Hermione said.

"Right, Sorry Nev." Harry said red around the ears.

"Not at all Harry. We owe you both big time." Neville said patting Harry on the back.

"Well this story involves both of you." Alice said.

"What story?" Neville asked.

"The story of you both growing up under the same roof. You see back in school your mother and I were good friends. We were study partners and potions partners. We both fell in love at almost the same time, to men we both secretly fancied. We got married a week apart. We got pregnant the same time. We had you the same time in the hospital. Your two cribs were right next to each other in the hospital. Your mother and I sat in the nursery and held you both that next day and we made a pact, if anything should happen to either one of us we would take care of the other's child. Your folks were not well off and they were going to teach at the school, but during the summer they were going to live here in Longbottom Manor. It was better then the little cottage they had in Godric's Hollow. The war raged on and then one day Dumbledore came to us and told us there was a prophecy about the dark lord. It was vague but it could have meant either one of you boys. To protect you both we went into hiding separately. The night the dark lord attacked you the Lestrange's paid us a visit. It was a surprise attack that caught us off guard. The next thing I know is was trapped in my own body. Forced to watch my son grow up without being able to hold him and talk to him." Alice said losing her battle with her emotions.

Neville held his mother as she cried but Harry stood next to them not knowing what to do with his hands. Alice solved his dilemma by bringing him into the hug again. Hermione saw this and smiled at the three of them as she walked around the big bed and checked on Neville's dad. The glow was fading around his head but it was still bright. She cast a few monitoring charms before going to sit next to Augusta. She took the other bag off the seat and grabbed a few chips.

"THis is pretty good." She said nodding as she dug around for a piece of fish.

"It needs vinegar and salt." Augusta said watching the scene of her grandson holding his mum with a smile.

"You're right. Harry, Make me a bottle of vinegar!" Hermione called out.

"Is that food I'm smelling?" Alice asked looking up.

"Yeah, we got some Fish and chips from a pub in town." Neville said.

"You wouldn't happen to have more of it would you?" Alice asked licking her lips.

"No, but Harry can make anything you want." Neville said.

"Good point, do you have a taste for something?" Harry asked making a bottle of vinegar and floating it to Hermione.

"Breakfast, eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, tea and orange juice." She said before blushing a bit.

"Been thinking about that for a while haven't you?" Harry asked making a bed tray with a big platter full of everything she said on it.

"Wow, I've never seen a maker before." Alice said looking shocked as most adults when Harry made something.

"You get used to it. This one demands things all the time and she expects me to hop to as soon as she says it." Harry said pointing to Hermione. As if on cue she pipped up.

"A bottle of Dr. Pepper would be nice, and Gran would like a bottle of Tab." Hermione said.

"Yes dear." Harry said waving at her and making two bottles of soda floating in the air by them.

"Harry what are we supposed to set them on? And no bottle opener?" She said trying to hold back a smile.

"What was I think? I should have known to make those as well." Harry said making a table in front of them so they could set their bags down. He set the bottles on the table and vanished the caps. "Anything else princes?" He asked.

"Yes, Neville forgot to get a pickle. And a sault shaker would be nice as well." She said making Augusta laugh.

"How dare he forget your pickle. I'll punish him later for this terrible oversight. Anything else?" Harry asked.

"No, that will be all." She said dismissing him with a hand wave.

"I live to serve my lady." Harry said bowing as he checked on Frank again.

"Harry, is it normal for Frank to be out this long?" Alice asked holding her husband's hand as she ate.

"Yes and no, all it means is he was more damaged and the potion is taking a bit longer to heal him. He should be fine, but I don't know how confused he'll be. He might wake up and be just like you, awake but locked inside your head, or he could be missing the last ten years. To tell you the truth, I don't know what's worse." Harry said.

"Seeing the world around you pass you by and not being able to say anything. I hope he wakes up not knowing what happened. It was hell to watch my little boy grow up and not…" She started to cry again as Neville hugged her. Harry took the tray off her lap and set it on the bed side table

"The potion cured your injuries but Alice, i'd strongly suggest you talk about your time under with someone. Maybe Frank when he gets up. He's been under for a while and if he's missing the last ten years guess who can help him piece it together? You suffered with the fact that you were up and you couldn't do anything. but, he might have lost ten years. You got to see your son grow up. You couldn't hug him or talk back. But you got to see him and hear him and live through him. It was hell, but it was something. Maybe you went through that so you could pick up your old life easier. Faster so you could be there for Frank. He's been out this long, we're pushing a half hour, I can almost guarantee he comes back with patches and holes in his memories. Life is what we make of it. You had ten bad years, but at least you had something. I'm not telling you to be grateful that the damage you took was just enough to put you in a coma but not enough to put you out. But? You got to hear you son's voice every week. You watched him grow and you knew that his Gran was taking care of him. It's something?" Harry said with a shrug.

"I never thought about that, you're a good boy Harry. Lily would be so proud." Alice said taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. He set the tray over her lap again and made a chair for Neville to sit next to her.

"Thank you for saying that, maybe later when things calm down and you've had a chance to settle into your life again you can tell me about my mum?" Harry asked making a set of cutlery for Neville and a glass of oj.

"I'd like to do a lot more then that, i'd like to be there for both you and Neville." She said looking at the two boys with a soft smile.

"Well, I have an adoptive mum and a half dozen aunts. All of them want to look after me. So you can try but my schedule is a bit full but I'm always happy to have another adult to talk to." Harry said with a smile as he turned and went over the his seat next to Hermione.

"Did you save anything for me?" Harry asked looking in the bag but she batted his hand away.

"Make you're own." She said with a bratty grin.

"Fine, I make it better then the pub anyways." Harry mocked back waving a big plate of fish and chips out of thin air and set it on the table in front of him. He was just about to dig in when the glow faded around Frank's head. He shot out of his seat and cast a bunch of scanning charms at him.

"How is he Harry?" Hermione asked pulling out her clip board.

"Good, he's resting now, he's not in a coma. I think the potion drained him. I'm going to add a healing tonic and a teaspoon of power booster to his IV bag." Harry said adding the potions to the bag as he talked.

"But he's healed right?" Alice asked looking at her sleeping husband.

"He's healed, he just needs to sleep, he's drained. He'll be up in a bit. He needs to sleep to regain his energy." Harry said going back to his seat, as he walked back he saw his plate was missing most of the chips. "Hey!" He said looking at Hermione.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"What my ass, you stole my chips woman." He said indignantly.

"Do you have any proof?" She asked with a shrug.

"I know it was you." Harry said.

"You know nothing, but you can have some of mine if it will make you happy." She said offering him her bag.

"I don't want you're subpar chips. I made mine to taste." Harry said.

"So make some more." she said holding back a laugh.

"Sure, just make more. Like I'm an endless supply of chips." Harry mocked as he made more chips.

"See, good as new." She said snatching a chip off his plate. "Ummm, your's are better." She said.

"Are those two always like that?" Alice asked eating off her plate again.

"Yes and no, they're usually less chatty. They tend to use a lot of looks and hand gestures. I think they're hamming it up to keep the room light. Those two are something else. I owe him so much and he never asks for a thing from me. He's been nothing but the best friend I could ever ask for. They both have." Neville said smiling at the two as they fought over chips.

"So they're a matched pair?" She asked with a smile.

"Totally. They don't have eyes for anyone else. But they make each other better. Hermione can be too in her head, and Harry is powerful enough to be a very bad man. She keeps him in check and he makes sure she stays out of her shell." Neville said.

"Well good, now what about you? Is there anyone that keeps you in check or makes you come out of your shell?" Alice asked smirking at the way Neville blushed.

"No." He said.

"No? Not even Susan Bones?" Alice asked.

"How do you… I mean, she's a friend." Neville stumbled out.

"That was very convincing. Good job. So is she someone special? Or is she just a good friend? You mention her every time you talk to me." Alice asked her boy.

"She's just a friend. She helps me watch out for these two. It's a full time job." He said.

"Good, I'm proud of you my baby boy… I'm going to have to come up with a new shorthand name for you." Alice said with a sad smile.

"Well, as long as no one else is around, Baby boy is okay I guess." Neville said with a shrug.

"On sweetie," Whatever she was going to say was cut off by Frank shooting up in bed and letting out a pain filled scream.

"FRank!" Alice yelled grabbing him.

"SHit, I did not count on this!" Harry said as he vaulted over the table and ran to his side casting spells. "FRANK!" Harry yelled adding power to his voice. This trick worked to snap him out of his mind.

"WHat?" Frank half yelled as he came to full consciousness. "James?" He asked looking at Harry standing over him.

"No Frank, that's Harry." Alice said getting his attention.

"Alice?" He asked looking at his wife confused.

"Frank, what's the last thing you remember?" Harry asked looking sad.

"Pain, so much pain and screaming. We were attacked! Neville!" He yelled trying to get up out of bed.

"Dad I'm fine!" Neville said looking panicked.

"What?" Frank said looking at his son in shock.

"Frank, I'm going to hit you with a mild calming charm and I'm going to let your wife explain what happened. I think it will be easier for her to tell you. For now I just want you to know that you're fine, everyone is fine, and the war is over. We're all safe." Harry said laying a hand on the man shoulder and casting a mild calming charm through his hand.

"Okay?" Frank said looking confused but less panicked.

"Okay. I'm going to make you something to eat, do you have a taste for anything special?" Harry asked.

"No, I just want answers." Frank said.

"Okay, I'll make you some breakfast and I'll set it aside on this table. If you feel hungry you can pick at it." Harry said making a tray like Alice's. He then led Hermione out of the room.

"That was intense." Hermione said looking at the closed door.

"Yeah, it was. I did not expect that. We need to add that to the report before we send it off to the hospital. I think if someone is given the potion they should have someone on hand to calm them down and explain things to them. We should also make sure the corners proof a weaker and less concentrated mix of the healing tonic and the power tonic. We have a lot of work to do. We need to do the math on dosages, mixing times, and we need a dosage chart. ON top of all that we need to brew a triple batch of both and we need to… Crap!" Harry said stopping as they walked down the stairs.

"What?" Hermione asked looking at him.

"I left my food in there." Harry said looking at the door.

"Harry." She said hitting him on the arm as she rolled her eyes and shook her head as she continued down the stairs.

"What? I was just starting to eat." Harry said walking down the stairs after her.

"Harry, stop being stupid. Let go sit in the dining room and you can make another plate." She said taking a right at the bottom of the stairs and heading into the dining room where she saw two women sitting at the big wood table. "Oh, um, hello?" She said.

"Hi." Said the Cassie.

"Right, I almost forgot about you guys, sorry about that but we had kind of had a big breakthrough." Harry said taking a seat across from the two and making a new plate of lunch.

"No need to apologise, we understand. Is everything okay?" Vera asked.

"Yes, it's going to take some time for Neville's parents to get their lives in order but they both made a full recovery. Healthwise their in top form." Harry said batting Hermione's hand away from his plate. "Damn it woman, do you have a hollow leg?" He said laughing.

"No, but we used so much magic yesterday that I'm really hungry today, now make me a plate of chips." She said with a smirk.

"Fine, here." Harry said making a basket of fries covered in salt and vinegar. "And as soon as I get some of this down we'll portkey back to the house and we'll handle your status questions." Harry said digging into his plate.

"What status issue?" Hermione asked.

"Vera and Cassie are the last two living non imprisoned/crazy members of the Lestrange family." Harry said after swallowing a bite of fish.

"Really?" Hermione asked looking at the two.

"Yes, Harry and Neville walked into our shop and after a short conversation he put it all together." Vera said with a grin.

"That's crazy." Hermione said as the puppy jumped up on to the table out of Cassie's lap. "Oh, would you look at this cutie. What's your name?" Hermione asked.

"I was thinking Hairy. After all Harry made him." Cassie said picking up the puppy.

"Harry made him?" Hermione asked looking at Harry who was shoveling food in his mouth. "You made a conjured animal Harry?" She asked locking eyes with him.

"Yeah, about that, it totally slipped my mind that the dog would be permanent because I made it. But on the upside he's very low maintenance." Harry said with a charming smile.

"Harry! You can't go around making living things." She said.

"Like I said, this is the last one. Well, until we do the NEWTs. You have to conjure a whole bunch of things for the test." Harry said smirking.

"That's not very funny." Hermione said as Neville and his gran came into the room.

"Hey, how is it going up there?" Harry asked.

"Good, mum wanted to talk to dad for a bit about some things in private." Neville said.

"Good, then the healing tonics are working to their full extent. We're about to head back home to handle the line claim…" Harry was cut off.

"Why don't you have Andy come here and we'll save these two ladies the portkey ride. It's not a good idea to portkey with a full belly. Especially the first few times." Augusta said walking around the table to stand by the two women. "I'm Augusta Longbottom." She said holding out her hand to the two women.

"Vera and Cassie Hart." Vera said shaking her hand first.

"But as I understand it you're were a Lestrange and you're going to be one again soon?" Augusta asked.

"Yes, and I would just like to apol…" Was as far as Vera got before Augusta stopped her.

"It's not your fault dear. You were kicked out of your house. I would say I was sorry for your disownment but I fear it spared you a life much worse in your house." Augusta said.

"True. I had a breeding/marriage contract to a man named Simon Crow. I never met the man, is he as bad as my family?" Vera asked.

"Inner circle death eater with a penchant for young children if I recall his trial from years ago." She said with a sick look on her face.

"Oh my good god." Vera said looking shocked.

"Truly. You would be shocked what came out of the last peruge. Of course this new peruge has been just as enlightening. And if you get your title back you can help us rid the world of this scum." Augusta said taking a seat at the head of the table.

"So I should call Andy and have her come here Gran?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and tell the rest of the group that we will be having a dinner here at the Manor tonight to celebrate the return of my children." She said with a big smile.

"Are you sure Frank can handle the shock of seeing old friends?" Hermione asked.

"Dad is mostly fine. Mum explained thing to him and he's trying to wrap his head around the fact that he lost ten years." Neville said.

"Okay, you made sure to tell them if they feel anything they should call us immediately right? They are basically test subjects undergoing experimental treatment and we want to make sure they're okay. In fact I think they should be on a restrictive diet for the next two wee…" Hermione started to sat but Harry cut her off.

"I don't think we need to do all that. I think they lost ten years of life, let's not take any more days or weeks away. They are in top form and fully healed. Let's just monitor but not interfer. Now if you will excuse me I have a few call to make." Harry said getting up from his spot at the table and vanishing his empty plate as he left the dining room.

"Hermione, if you think my Mum and Dad need to be on a special diet I'll make sure they…" Neville started to say but Hermione waved him off.

"No, Harry's right, we need to trust in our work and be less controlling." She said with a nod of her head like she was trying to lock in an idea. She then looked at Neville with a grin. "SO, you have a mum and dad again, how does it feel?" She asked.

"The truth? I have no idea. This is all happening so fast I feel a bit numb, but I'm happy. Extremely happy. I know you don't want me to keep thanking you…" He said with a look of pure joy on his face.

"Then stop thanking us. If the positions were reversed I know you would do everything in your power to help my mum and dad. Now let's concentrate on getting them up and back on track. We might need to help them work on their magic and spell casting. In fact I think they should join the group during turned days so we can monitor them as they start to use their magic again. Your magical core is like a muscle, if you don't use it it atrophies and shrinks, as it is they might not be able to go back to work for a while." Hermione said with a thoughtful look in her eyes like she was doing long division.

"How bad is it?" Neville asked.

"Right now? Not good. At this point you're twice as powerful as both of them put together. Then again you're on the Mage scale and I don't think they were but with two weeks of steady use and booster tonics? They should be back up to full power." She said.

"Harry said something about fitting Cassie here for a wand, do you think she can cast magic and hold the title of Head of House?" Vera asked Hermione.

"I'm not sure, what's your power level?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure dear, Harry said low but he said she was powerful enough to use a wand." Vera said.

"She is powerful enough to use a wand. She should have gotten a letter from the school. She's a 62. That's 12 points over the squib level. If the school doesn't take kids that low on the wizard scale then I'm going to change that. It's ridiculous. You're how old Cassie?" Harry asked.

"24." She said.

"13 years. You should have had a wand for thirteen years already. If you would have fostered your magic at a young age you would be in the high 80's by now if not higher. We need to talk to Minerva about this. If there are kids out there right now that are over the squib level and they still don't get a letter then how many Cassie's are out there right now? On top of that we should look into a correspondence course for squbs. You might not be able to cast spells Vera but you can brew potions, draw ruins, and use magical items like brooms and scrying stones. There is no reason we can't teach Squibs at the school." Harry said looking pissed off.

"Well Mr. Gryffindor, change it. It's your school. Hire more teachers and institute new rules." Neville said.

"You know what?" Harry said thinking about his words. "That's not a bad idea Nev." Harry said nodding.

"Hey, you say that like it's rare for me to have good ideas." Neville said acting hurt.

"Well even a broken clock is right twice a day." Harry said without missing a beat.

"Hey!" Neville said looking really pissed at this point.

"Well I have to get back to the house and pick up most of the group, they should be ready to go by now." Harry rushing out of the room. Neville tossed a lighting bolt at Harry's retreating backside. It hit his shield and he heard Harry laughing in the hall before it vanished.

"I still don't know how he can hit me with a zinger but I can't get through his shields." Neville said laughing.

"He has three shields on and you have two. He can also arc the lighting bolt around the edge of your shield." Hermione said with a smirk.

"I really have to learn how to do that." He said.

"Learn what?" Alice asked leading Frank into the dining room.

Both of the were dressed in jeans and heavy wool sweaters and socks. Both of them looked like they were holding the other one up at times as they walked on unsteady feet too the table. Neville shot out of his seat and took both of them by the arm to steady them. Looking at him standing next to them was a real contrast. Neville was the biggest kid in their group and with their hunched over and lith frames they look tiny compared to their son's hulking form.

"We got it son we have to learn to do this by ourselves we can't depend on you to be here everyday." Frank said patting Neville on the arm as he made his way to the empty seat next to his mother.

"Besides we were fine when we first got up, we took showers and got dressed, the stairs took a lot out of us though." Alice said letting Neville lead her to a seat next to Frank.

"We'll you both are in peak physical health. You both need to build up your endurance and muscle mass. The healing tonic and a high protein diet will do wonders for you both." Hermione said casting monitoring charms on the two of them.

"If that's what the doctor orders than then who am I to complain about a high meat diet?" Frank said with a big grin. It was obvious he was thinking about big cuts of flame kissed meat topped with bacon. "I don't know what it is but I just finished a big stack of pancakes, eggs, and bacon upstairs but I could eat a whole cow right now." he added.

"Like father like son, that's so weird. Neville would eat a whole side of beef if we let him." Hermione said laughing.

"I'm a growing boy and the healing tonic makes me ravenous." Neville said grinning.

"The potion makes all of us ravenous. The more food you take in the more it converts into muscle mass and energy." Hermione said.

Harry walked into the dining room with the Grangers, Sirius, Aurora, Remus, Andy, and Ted. Sirius rushed over to Frank and pulled him out of his seat to hug him.

"Frank!" He said with a happy laugh.

"Easy big dog." Frank said laughing as Remus joined in the group hug. "Hey Moony." He said.

"Man it's good to see you up and talking. You look like shit but then again comas can't cure ugly." Sirius said.

"I'm up for less than an hour and you're already giving me shit?" Frank said laughing harder.

"I'm just glad you're back with us. Now he has someone else to pick on." Remus said.

"I missed you." Aurora Said as she hugged Alice with tears in her eyes.

"I missed me too." Alice said with a haunted samile.

"Harry, that dose of healing tonic you added to Frank's IV is working so fast he needed to eat again." Hermione said as her parents and the tonks' took seats at the table.

"Good, now that they're up we can start giving them bigger doses and feeding them more. Did they come down the stairs on their own?" He asked pulling his kit out.

"Yes but they are both weak after that." She said making notes on their charts.

"Good, this is all good news. Hey guys, you both need to take more healing tonic and I'll make you something with a lot of protein." Harry said pouring out two small doses of healing tonic. "We're also going to up your recover time table so we can get you both back to fighting form." Harry said handing them each a shot glass of potion.

"Okay Harry." Alice said with a soft smile.

"Whatever the doctor orders." Frank said shooting the potion.

"Good. now what would you like?" Harry said cracking his knuckles and stretching his fingers like he was about to play the piano.

"A big steak, and potatoes." Frank said as he retook his seat with SIrius and Remus next to him.

"Yes, I can work with that, how about this." Harry said waving a big platter into existence in front of Frank. The platter had a big 24 ounce Porterhouse steak covered in grilled onions, a big side of garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, and a big stack of onion rings. He made a bottle of steak sauce and handed him a knife and fork.

"My God." He muttered as the smell hit his nose. He cut into the soft meat and it was perfectly pink on this inside. The meat tasted like butter and he sighed and he chewed. "You my boy, are gifted." He said with a goofy grin on his face.

"You can have a beer with that if you would like. But now hard alcohol for a few weeks." Harry said.

"Hey Pup can I have what he's having, but you know, normal sized." Sirius said eyeing Frank's plate as his friend attacked his food.

"Me too please." Remus said licking his teeth. The full moon was a few days away and he was closer to the wolf.

"Sure, anyone else?" Harry said making two more normal sized plates. Dan and Frank raised their hands and Harry made two more plates. "What about the ladies at the table?" Harry asked.

"Your roasted chicken with the mushroom cream sauce over rice with the garlic and rosemary red potatoes and green beans if you please Harry? You have to try this Alice it's the best." Aurora said from her seat next to her.

"Good choice, the chef approves." Harry said making plates for the women.

"Oh wow this is good." Alice said.

"It needs a good glass of white wine." Aurora said.

"I can run back to the house to get a bottle, a few if we're going to have a bunch of people over for dinner." Harry said thinking about it.

"I'd send you but you but you have no sense of what's good. We really need to sit you down and teach you about wines. If you could make a good bottle of port we would save a lot of money on booze." Emma said.

"You can point out a good bottle for lunch and I'll grab a few beers for the guys and I'll bring them back." Harry said.

"Okay, there's a bottle of chardonnay in the wine race with a gold label and a green foil around the neck. Also get a few cases of beer from the top of that can you also set up a trunk so we can cross back and forth to the house? The portkeys do a number on me." Emma asked.

"Sure mum, we have a few extra trunks we made a week ago I wanted to put one in this house so Gran doesn't have to take a portkey to the ministry. With Amelia's trunk in her office and one in this house she won't need to portkey." Harry said.

"Thank you Harry and Hermione, that's very thoughtful of you." Augusta said.

"It's no problem, I'll set it up in the entrance hall and connect it to the wards." Harry said walking out of the room a few seconds later they saw a flash of light coming from down the hall and they heard the wards chime like a gone being struck.

"He reminds me so much of James. When I got up I saw him and I was so confused." Frank said.

"He looks like James but he's a mix of both his parents. He's got James' leadership skills but he's got Lily's heart. He wants to help people." Sirius said.

"You raised him well Sirius." Alice said.

"I didn't raise him. I was sent to jail for a crime I didn't commit by the old man. Harry got me out of jail. I spent ten years in Azkaban." Sirius said looking haunted.

"My god. Who raised Lily's boy?" Alice asked looking at the group.

"Lily's sister Petunia." Andy said coldly.

"No." Alice said.

"Yes, and the old man put compulsions on her and her husband to beat and mistreat the boy. The first seven years of his life were hell until Harry tapped into his magic and mind tricked them into being nicer to him." Andy said.

"I'll gut the old man!" Alice yelled standing up out her seat but she stood too fast and her knees buckled and she ended up back in her chair.

"It's been taken care of. We've stripped the old man of his power, and Harry has him by the short and curlies. We also dropped the compilations on Petunia and her husband and Harry visits them every once in awhile. They feel really guilty and Harry feels funny around them. They are slowly getting to know each other again. I mean their emotions were played with so much it's hard for them to be around each other." Aurora said placing a calming hand on Alice's arm.

"I got to see my boy all the time, I knew he was being raised by Augusta so I knew he was fine. But I always thought you were looking after Harry. You two were engaged to be married, I thought you two took him in and raised him." Alice said looking at Sirius and Aurora.

"No, when he went to jail, I became a drunk astronomy teacher at the school. I'm fine now, I cast the sober charm on myself after every drink I have to make sure I don't fall down that hole again and I'm minister of Magic now thanks to Harry." Aurora said.

"Wow, did none of group get a happy ever after?" Alice asked.

"From our friends? Not really. But we're making a comeback." Aurora said with a smile.

Harry came in at that point and started pouring drinks. They had a nice long late lunch and by the time they finished eating Frank and Alice could walk a little better. Harry made them each a cane and soon they were limping around the manor with ease. Andy talked to Vera and Cassie and she said they had a good case. They would fill out all the paperwork and on Monday during the open session of the Wizengamot they would present the case. But with half the wizengamot on their side and most of the other people's hatred of the still alive Lestranges Andy was sure Cassie would be declared the new head of house.

Later the rest of the group showed up and they had a nice dinner. After that they all took the trunk back to the Granger's house and they hug out in the garage. Frank took one look at the red E-type in the garage and Harry handed him the keys. He took Neville for a ride in the car. They spent most of the drive into town basking in the male bonding quite. Neville directed him to the ice cream shop. They parked and when in, Neville greeted lyonel by name and ordered two floats. They sat in a booth in the back and without knowing it Neville re-created the same male bonding trip Harry took Sirius on. They sat eating and smiling at each other for a good ten minutes before Neville broke the silence.

"Dad, I know it's weird between us, and it's okay. You passed out in 1981 and you woke up in 1991. I was a baby the last time you saw me and now I'm eleven." Neville said.

"It's weird right? I'm glad you said it. I've been watching you all afternoon trying to figure out what I'm going to tell you but for the most part you don't need me to baby you. You need me to treat you like the young man that you are. I'm sorry you grew up alone with my mother, she's a strict old bird and I can only imagine what that was like. I at least had my father growing up in that house. But you seem fine, in fact you seem more than fine." Frank said.

"I am for the most part, and growing up with garn was not always fun but she's gotten way better now. I think it's the healing potion Harry's been giving her. She's been so much happier since she's been taking it. She has a spring in her step and the black cloud has been lifted. I asked Hermione what she thinks about it and she said Gran was probably depressed and/or chemically unbalanced and the healing tonic fixed that. Also working with Harry has really done a number on my confidence. Harry's always trying to get me to stand up for myself and be my own man." Neville said.

"It shows. That boy is a damn good influence on you but don't think it's a one way street. He's probably gotten more from knowing you then the other way around." Frank said.

"Harry never really had a guy friend before he met me and now I'm his brother. The fact that we should have grown up together makes that bond even stronger." Neville said.

"Good, it's always good to have a friend like that. Now here's the fun part, do you have questions for me? Things that you want to know about me?" Frank asked.

"I have loads of questions for you, but I think we have time. This is your first day back in the land of the living. Let's just relax. Tomorrow, when we come home for our turned day we have work to do. We're going to put you through your paces and let me tell you, if Harry's running the lesson you're in for a lot of pain. But after that, let's me and you sit down in the study and talk. Deal?" Neville asked holding out his hand.

"Deal." Frank said shaking his hand before he pulled him into a half hug over the table.

"Cool, now let's get a few pints of ice cream and head back to the party." Neville said.

"Sounds good to me." Frank said following his son up to the counter.

"Lyonel, I need two pints each of the chocolate, vanilla, cherry, and the mint chip." Neville said.

"Coming right up." Lyonel said walking into the back kitchen. He came back a minute later with two shopping bags. "There you go. That'll be…"

"Forty quid, here's a fifty, keep the change." Neville said handing over the fifty pound note and taking the bag as his Frank walked behind him with his cane.

"Thank's have a good night." Lyonel said with a big smile as they walked out to the car. Frank started up the jag with a smile on his face.

"I've always wanted one of these. It's going to really suck to hand the keys back to Harry." Frank said.

"Hand the keys back? Dad he gave you this car." Neville said.

"WHat!" Frank half yelled.

"Yeah, he loves doing things like that." Neville said.

"But this is a mint condition Jag. it's worth more than a normal house." Frank said.

"Harry made this dad. He copied the junk that he bought with conjured gold coins." Neville said laughing.

"He did what now? This is a story." Frank said laughing.

"It is. Dan wanted to get Emma a classic sports car for her birthday…" Neville told the story of the day Harry almost exploded from taking an experimental potion. When they pulled up to the garage Harry was waiting for them.

"How did she ride?" He asked opening the door for Frank.

"Like a dream." Frank said.

"Good, keep it, it's your's. Welcome back to the land of the living. I can shrink it for you to take home, or you can leave it here and store it in the garage." Harry said waving at the number plate. It now read: FRLB 001. "There now we know it's yours." Harry said. With a smile as he walked away.

"I told you he'd give you the car. He gives everyone a car. It's his way of saying welcome to the group. I wonder where mum is?" Neville said looking around. As if on cue a silver Jaguar xk120 rolled up the drive and Harry met it. He said something and they heard Alice.

"WHat!?" She yell asked. He waved at the front of the car and she drove up the rest of the way and parked next to them. "Harry just gave me this car! Can you believe it?" She said as she and Aurora got out of the car.

"I can, he gave me this one." Frank said.

"THat boy is crazy." She said with a smile as she sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yes he is." Frank agreed watching James Potter's clone circulate through the party of kids and adults.

He watched as Harry stopped and talked to each group and in every encounter he looked like he fit in. when he talked to a group of girls he made a pitcher of lemonade and tall glasses with ice and straws which the girls thanked him for. He stood by a table where a group of boys were playing cards. He pointed out something which made two boys throw their cards down and boo as Dean raked in the pot. Harry cracked a joke and the guys all laughed as he walked over to a group of adults talking about medicine. He made a conet about something and they all nodded. He made a few pieces of paper and they group looked them over with a lot of nodding and commenting. Harry shrugged and pulled out a heavy looking book and pointed something out which made the group nod and mutter some more but they all patted him on the back as Mary Corner looked over the notes and said something. Harry handed her a few potions flasks and she grinned as she looked them over. Harry walked up the a group of warriors by the bar and poured himself a soda into a beer mug. As he did he added his two cents to the conversation and when they said something back Harry pulled a black flashlight out of his pouch on his belt and ignited a three foot green blade. He swung it around a few time and then had AMelia lob a spell at him. He batted the spell into the ceiling and fixed the damage with a hand wave as the group clapped and cheered. Harry made three more lightsabers and handed them to the group before he walked off towards him. He walked up to the car.

"Hey you two, how are you doing?" Harry asked discreetly casting a monitoring charm on the both of them.

"We're fine Harry, just tired. It's been a long day." Frank said holding Alice close to his side as she snored softly.

"I can send you both home, or I can offer you a big soft couch to sleep on if you would like?" Harry asked.

"We're fine for now Harry, thank you for looking out for us. For all of us." Frank said nodding to Neville who was laughing with the boys sitting at the card table.

"I have to, because I know he has my back. Us heroic types have to stick together after all." Harry said puffing out his chest and buffing his nails on his shirt.

"You can play it off if you like but I want you to know you we are deep in debt to you and your house and I plan on spending a good portion of my life making it up to you and your girl. I lost ten years. Thanks to you two I won't lose anymore time." Frank said looking down at his wife.

"I don't know if you know this but I'm the last descendent of Merlin and Godric Gryffindor. I have a huge legacy to live up to. I'm not much of a leader, or politician. I have no head for it. But I am a fighter and a healer. When I see my brother hurting because his parents are in a coma and I can do something about it I would be dishonoring my lineage if I didn't help." Harry said with a shrug.

"Harry, I know I'm not the first person to tell you this, but your parents would be damn proud of the man you're becoming." Frank said.

"That's my goal in life." Harry said casting a silencing bubble around the car and making a soft wool blanket that he draped over their legs. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow we get you guys back on your feet and see if you can start walking without the canes. Next week I want to start your magical training to get your cores back up to where they used to be. You have a long road ahead of you but we'll be there every step of the way." Harry said patting him on the arm.

Frank looked down at his sleeping wife and smiled. He looked up and Harry was gone. It took him a few seconds to find him but he saw him playing pool with Neville. The two of them were trading shots and laughing. Frank fatal warm and happy and content. He drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: this was supposed to go up Monday but my birthday was Sunday and i was too hung over to get to it until yesterday. also the reason these chapters are taking so long to come out is because i'm DMing a campaign in a system i made up and it's taking a lot of my free time to retcon a lot of D&D 5e to fit my old west campaign. i know i could use the dead lands system but my players and i are D&D nerds and we like the d20 system better so it's taking up 90% of my free time to get the game up and running. the good news is i might be able to get a good HP story out of the campaign notes with just a little tweaking. also this story is like 65% done, and as usual it will be twice as long as i said it would be at the start.

The busy month of September rolled into an even busier October for the whole group. Starting with Andy and her lineage hearing for Vera and Cassie. The hearing went about as well as could be expected when the group controlled 22 of the 40 seats on the Wizengamot. The titles and vaults were handed over to Cassie. But she could not sit on the wizengamot until she was a full witch. She needed to pass the OWLs to be a certified witch. That meant she had until June to lean five years of spells, potions, and history. Of course her first hurdle was getting a wand.

Cassie and and Vera went right to Ollivanders from the ministry building to buy a wand but after an hour of testing she only found a partial match. It was an 12 ¾ inch oak with a maple handle and a horntail heartstring. Ollivander looked at the small green and gold sparks that fizzled out of the tip of the wand and hummed in confusion.

"What?" Cassie asked looking annoyed at having to try so many wands without a match.

"You my dear, are one of the most challenging matches I've ever seen." He said looking at the huge pile of opened boxes.

"You don't say." Cassie said angrily making more sparks shoot out of the front of her wand.

"I wish I could say I have a better match but I don't think there is a better match. You might have to track down another wand maker or, you might find a better match in your family vault. Most family bloodlines have a similar magical signature and they tend to prefer a core and wood type. It how I narrowed you down to dragon and oak. An ancestor's wand might do the trick." He said.

"Maybe. We're heading to the bank later today. How much for the wand?" Cassie asked pulling a coin purse out of her bag.

"With the two woods and the rare heart string it comes to 10 galleons even." He said.

"Is that a lot?" She asked her grandmother as she took the coins out.

"It's 250 pounds dear." Vera said.

"Wow. That much for a piece of wood?" She said looking at the stick in her hand.

"With that piece of wood you can unlock a whole world of magic." Ollivander said looking insulted.

"Well not with this piece of wood I won't. You said so yourself it's not a perfect match. Here, keep your stick. I'll have Harry make a nicer one for me." She said handing him back the wand.

"Cassie!" Vera said looking shocked.

"Right, sorry for the insult. I'm just frustrated. I feel like this was a total waist of both of our time. Especially since I know Harry can make something for me." Cassie said looking embarrassed.

"Harry? Is he a wand maker?" Ollivander asked.

"No, he's a…" Vera stopped Cassie.

"He's a friend and powerful wizard." Vera said.

"Oh, you're talking about Harry Potter. Yes, I suppose he could make you a wand, but I hesitate to say it will work. I've never seen a made wand. I wonder what it will be? Would you mind bringing it by so I can inspect it before you use it? I can test it in my safe box and certify it for you. I would love to know what your true match looks like." Ollivander asked.

"I wonder if we can just have Harry come here and talk to you about it?" Cassie said looking at her gran.

"Call him, it's after lunch." Vera said looking at her watch.

"Good thinking." Cassie said pulling the mobile phone out and walking out of the shop. After a short conversation she hung up and came back in. "He said he'll be here in a minute." She said.

"Good, I was expecting him a few months ago and he never came in for a proper wand. I was looking forward to his wand fitting." Ollivander said excitedly as the door to the shop opened and closed.

"Don't hold your breath. I don't need a wand and I have a staff if I really need something to boost my spell work." Harry said lowering the hood on his invisibility robe. "Harry Potter." He said holding out his hand to the wand maker.

"Garrick Ollivander. You said you have a staff?" He asked looking excited.

"I do, i'd let you examine it but anyone that touches it not in Merlin's blood line receives a nasty shock when they touch it." Harry said calmly as Ollivander practically crapped himself at the idea of looking at Merlin's staff.

"Can I just see it? Could you perhaps bring it b…" He stopped as Harry pulled the shrunken staff out of his bag and expanded it. "My good God." He muttered as he pulled a long dark wood wand from his sleeve and cast a spell at the staff. The spell hit the staff and a lighting bolt shot back at him causing the old man to roll out of the way as the bolt hit the shelf behind him and turned it black tossing wand boxes to the floor.

"I told you it was defencive. Sorry about that, here let me fix that." Harry said waving at the shelf and fixing the damage. He then packed the wands back into their boxes and put them back on the shelf with another wave.

"No, that was my fault, I should know better, but I got too excited for my own good. I should know better than to mess with a power stone." Ollivander said with a rueful smile as he got up off the ground and brushing himself off.

"Power stone?" Cassie asked looking at the gold staff.

"It's a gemstone that has a rune string etched on it. It collects ambient magic in the air and stores it like a battery. This ruby is a power stone. It take any spell cast through it and amplifies it using the power stored in the stone. The shield charm items you both wear have power stones at their cores. Power stones are used to power enhancements." Harry explained in his teacher's voice as he shrunk his staff and put it away.

"You know…" Ollivander said before trailing off with an odd look in his eyes like he was doing long division.

"I know what?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"WHat?" He asked snapping out of his stupper.

"No, you. You were on to something. What was it?" Harry asked.

"Power stones, if you made a wand that could handle a power stone like Merlin's staff then anyone could, in theory, cast spells as long as they have a core to activate the power in the stone. Just like the staff works. But instead of taking a powerful spell and overpowering it…"

"It takes a very weak activation spell and amps it up to a normal spell." Harry finished for him.

"Yes, but you would need to find a wood that could handle the power output off the stone." Ollivander said.

"Or not." Harry said pulling a few gold coins out of his bag and holding them in his hand. He closed his eyes and and the gold coins formed into a wand handle that was five inches long with engraved dragon scales around the grip. The handle ended in a dragon's head with the mouth open. There was a flash of light and when it died down there was an eight inch spike made of deep red ruby sticking out of the mouth like the dragon was spitting fire. Harry floated the wand in the air in front of him and surrounded it with glowing white light. When the light faded the red spike glowed with an internal fire. Harry floated the wand to Cassie.

"Wow." She said reaching for it.

"Wait!" Ollivander said. "We need to test it to see if it's safe." He said holding out his hand to stop Cassie but it was too late. She grabbed the wand and as soon as she got a good grip on it red and gold sparks shot out of the front and a wind swept through the shop tossing boxes and upending shelves.

"Holy crap." Cassie said looking at the wand in her hand.

"Well, we know it's a match and that it's powerful." Ollivander said laughing at the destruction of his shop.

"I'll say. Watch out where you point that thing Cas." Harry said fixing the shop and putting boxes back on shelves.

"Now this is a wand." Cassie said excitedly.

"Yes, and tomorrow I'll show you how to use it. For now, here's a forearm sheath." Harry said making a holster for the wand and handing it to her.

"Thank you Harry. I love my new wand." Cassie said slipping on the leather under her sleeve and putting the wand away.

"You know that a wand like that could work for a lot of people. People that I can't match because their cores are too small or weak." Ollivander said looking at Harry.

"People that don't get Hogwarts letters you mean. Yes, I was thinking about that. We have to test it for sure but I've already got something in the works regarding that oversight." Harry said.

"I figured as much, you being the Lord Gryffindor." Ollivander said.

"And when I do fix that oversight those people are going to need wands." Harry said with a nod.

"I wonder if you could make a wand like that with a wood handle?" Ollivander said.

"Let's find out." Harry said making a eight inch crystal spike with the rune string etched down the side. "You wouldn't happen to have a wood handle would you?" Harry asked with a smirk. Ollivander summoned a Maple handle from the back of the shop and handed it to Harry. Harry stuck the crystal into the handle and fused them together with magic. The wand glowed and flashed and Harry handed it to Ollivander. He ran a few scans on the wand and nodded.

"This is very powerful but it's nowhere near as powerful as the one you made for Miss Lestrange." He said setting the wand on the counter.

"I made the crystal out of common quarts. It will hold a charge but it won't over power spells. It will, as you said before make a weak wizard into a wizard. Nothing more. And it's less valuable. It's also easier to make and I added a protection rune to the shaft to make it shatter resistent. I could pump out a case of a thousand of those with a thought. The thing is, I can't sit around all day making and selling wands. I have other matters to attend to. Plus it's not my trade. But if someone were to get a case of quarts shafts and make the handles for them…" Harry left the idea in the air.

"Partners or would I be a vender that just buys wand shafts from you?" Ollivander asked.

"Partners, and I'll have my law witch come up with some kind of patent for the wands." Harry said holding out his right hand.

"Partners." Ollivander said shaking his hand.

"Here is your first case of 500 crystal wand shafts." Harry said making a wood crate lined with red velvet full of stacked crystal wand shafts. These were in the traditional six sided crystal shape with just a slight taper to a more blunted point. Harry pulled one out and looked it over before handing it to the wand maker. "The rune string is under the surface to prevent damage to the string and avert potential failure of the wand. I also added my crest to the wand as well as your name. That should boost sales." Harry said.

"Speaking of sales, how much are we charging and what's the split?" Ollivander asked looking at the wand shaft. It was half an inch wide at the bottom and it tapered to an eighth of an inch at the tip making it a perfect wand shape.

"How much do you charge for a finely crafted wand handle?" Harry asked.

"Between one and three Galleons depending on the wood and the time it takes to craft it. Add another gold piece for the box and the registration fee. So we'll call it two to four galleons on my end." Ollivander said doing mental math.

"Then add a gold piece for the shaft and set it aside for me. These wands are going to people that were denied a life of magic. I don't think we should shaft them, pun intended, for the wand that will unlock their true potential." Harry said making the old man laugh.

"No, I think you're right. So we're looking at three gold pieces for a low end and five for a high end wand. Not bad for what it's worth. We're going to have to sit down with the wand registration department to discuss these new wands at some point. Can you get out of school that often?" Ollivander asked just now realizing Harry should be in class at the moment.

"Don't worry about it. But if you run into any trouble just call Andromeda Black Tonks. She's my personal law witch and she will handle any issues. How fast do you think you'll have this batch done?" Harry asked pointing at the crate.

"500 wand handles, plus boxes, paperwork for the ministry, and testing; two weeks. But the next batch will go much quicker." The master craftsman said with confidence.

"Good, in about two weeks my friend and I are going to receive an Order of Merlin again, third class I think, and I would love to announce this partnership at the press conference. It will also help me get the word out that we're expanding the school to include day and night classes for OWL prep to witches and wizards that should have gotten a letter but didn't. I'm hoping we can have teachers hired soon so we can start that in a month or so." Harry said thinking out loud more so than talking to the wand maker.

"My word you are busy. Well I can have about 1,500 wands ready to go in a month if I call in my nephew to help me ramp up production." Ollivander said.

"Nephew?" Harry asked breaking out of his train of thought.

"Xenophilius Lovegood." Ollivander said.

"Now that's a mouth full." Cassie said.

"We all call him Xeno for short. He's a bit odd but he knows the family trade and it will be good to have him and his daughter in the shop more." Ollivander said with a smile.

"Whatever it takes to get the job done. Take it out of my cut. Now if you will excuse me I have a class to get back to." Harry said looking down at his watch before vanishing from the shop.

"He really is an odd young man, but he has a good heart." Ollivander said with a smile.

"That he does. It was nice meeting you Mr. Ollivander, I might be by in a few weeks to buy a wand of my own. Something I thought i'd never do. Come along Cassie, we have so much more to do today." Vera said leading her granddaughter out of the wand shop.

"It was nice to meet you, please do come back again." The wand maker called out to them as they left. He then rushed to the fireplace and called his nephew.

The two ladies made their way to the bank and they were lead right into the director's office. With the documents given to them by the court they were given access to the family vault, as well as Rabastan and Rodolphus' personal vaults. In addition to that was the family manor house in Blackpool. All together they had 6,680,759 gold galleons or just over 167 million pounds. The two women almost passed out from the amount. They had the contents of the two personal vaults, which were just over a million galleons split into two new vaults. One would be shared between the two women as they built their new lives and the other half of the gold would go to Harry's vault so he could use it to hire staff and build the school up so they could start the OWL prep classes. They wanted to make sure they used their new wealth for good, and they thought of no one better than Harry to use the gold for good. They were about to head down to the vaults when there was a knock at the door and Bill Weasley came in.

"Good afternoon Director." Bill said with an easy smile.

"Mr. Weasley, what may I ask are you doing here?" The Director asked.

"I've been hired by Lord Harry Potter to inspect the Family vault before anyone goes in. I took this contract as is my right under my terms of service oath to the bank. I was also hired to inspect the house and the wards before they enter." Bill said.

"Harry hired you?" Vera asked.

"Yes, I was contracted out by his law witch Andromeda Black. She came into my office a few minutes ago with a mobile phone. I was handed a bag of gold coins and a bank draft and given very precise instructions to not let anyone into the vault before I run a full scan on everything. With the size of the vault this is going to take a few days I'm afraid. I can start with the house if you would like and that way you can move in while I work on your vault. If you have any questions I was instructed that you should call Harry directly." Bill said.

"I think we will, no offence." Vera said as Cassie pulled out her phone.

"None taken. This was just dropped into my lap a few minutes ago but the honor of working for Harry directly and the amount of gold that was dropped on my desk made this a deal too good to pass up." Bill said.

"How much gold are we talking about if you don't mind me asking?" Vera asked.

"He paid me three times my fee for a job like this which is a thousand galleons and bought my retainer for the next two years and he paid me in advance. All told 23,000 gallons." Bill said.

"Oh my. That boy is too much." Vera said shaking her head.

"On top of that he gave me this mobile phone, and this very nice shield charm watch." Bill said showing Vera the gold watch he was wearing.

"It's all on the level. Harry said he thought about it after he left us at the wand shop. He said the family is just as bad as the Blacks and Sirius had a hell of a time cleaning out his house and vaults. He said Bill comes very highly regarded and his brothers vouched for him. He also invited us to dinner at the house in a few house but said to take our time in the alley and spend some of our new wealth on shiny things." Cassie said laughing.

"That's Harry for you. Bill, it's nice to meet you and we are happy to have you looking out for our safety. Would you please start on the house and then we can worry about the vault. Take your time and make sure you don't miss anything. We are not magically inclined just yet and we are ill prepared for anything nasty that might be in the house. It's been a long time since I set foot in that house and I can tell you now you're going to have your work cut out for you." Vera said shaking his hand.

"I look forward to the challenge. Your house and vaults are a curse breaker's dream. I wonder how many different dark and deadly curses I can find." Bill said excitedly.

"Well happy hunting. This is the Portkey to House Fog Hill." Vera said handing him the gold key the Director handed her an hour ago.

A few minutes later the women left the bank and headed down the alley. They spent the next two hours window shopping and by the time they portkeyed to the Granger's back yard they were loaded down with bags and wearing fine robes and witches hats.

"You two went full witch on us." Harry said in greeting the two.

"We might have gone a little overboard but this was the first time in a long time we didn't have to look at price tags." Vera said.

"Besides Harry, I look good as a witch." Cassie said twirling to show off her black and gold robes.

"She just wants to look good for the next time we see Bill." Vera said ratting out her granddaughter.

"Gran!" Cassie said blushing.

"Is Bill quit the catch?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Tall handsome and he has a bad boy look about him without the bad boy attitude." Vera said making Cassie blush harder.

"I had no idea, I hired the best man for the job based on the information I had on hand. The fact that this is going to be so very entertaining is a happy accident." Harry said laughing as he lead them over to the table where the rest of the group was gathering for dinner.

The back yard was cool in the night air but around the backyard Harry setup magical heating lamps so they could keep using the back yard as their classroom. It was a cool and breezy 50 outside but in the back yard it was a nice 73 with a slight breeze just to keep the air moving. They sat down next to the Longbottoms and Alice greeted the two with a hug and a tired smile.

"How did your day go?" Alice asked. She was wearing a black track suit and she had a towel around her neck.

"Good, we are both Ladies of the house of Lestrange and Cassie is the head of house. We have a curse breaker cleaning out the house in Blackpool right now. This morning we were just getting by, tonight we go to bed multi-millionaires. That's Harry for you." Vera said laughing.

"Tell me about it. Four days ago we could barely walk now he has us jogging and working out. This yoga thing he's teaching us is really nice. I feel more limber than ever but I'll tell you I've never been more sore in my life. Of course it doesn't help that our son is helping to teach us this stuff and he's way too good at it." Alice said with a grin.

"You look deliriously happy my dear." Vera said patting the woman on the back.

"I am. I think we all are." Alice said before Harry got everyone's attention.

"Tonight we will be having two options, a meat and a fish. For the meat we have lamb chops over garlic mashed potatoes with pan seared green beans and mushrooms. For the fish option we have grilled tuna with sauteed new potatoes and asparagus in a light lemon and herb butter. Who's having the meat?" Harry asked looking at the table.

"I love having dinner at this house." Alice said as Harry made plates for everyone and he came around the table to talk to everyone. When he got to the Longbottoms he patted them on the back.

"You two are making great progress. This time next month and you should be halfway to full health. Here are your dinner tonics and remember to eat a lot, even if you feel full try to have a double helping of meat and just one glass of wine." Harry said.

"Thanks to you kids we are up and about." Frank said patting Harry's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, we're family, we stick together. Now eat up. We're watching a moving on the big screen later, and it's the guys turn to pick. I'm thinking the Three Amigos." Harry said.

"What's that?" Frank asked.

"Just the most funny moving of all time. You'll see." Harry said as he turning the Vera and Cassie. "How are you two doing? Need anything?" He asked.

"No and before I forget. We added this to your account at the bank. It's to help you get the OWL program off the ground." Vera said handing him the deposit draft.

"Vera! You didn't have to do that, we have way enough gold to do that. But I'll make you a deal. I'll start a fund for scholarships for people that can't afford the courses in your name. Maybe in your daughter's name? How about that?" Harry asked.

"I would like that a lot. And if the fund ever needs more just let me know. That's a very sweet idea Harry. Thank you." Vera said hugging him as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"We'll set it up at the bank tomorrow. For now relax and enjoy the night air." Harry said before he moved on down the table. Harry made it back to his place after a few minutes and made a plate for himself. As soon as he started to eat the wards flashed and Bill landed on the ground next to the table. His robes were smoking and singed, he had huge claw marks across his chest and it looked like he fell out of a very tall tree and hit every sharp branch on the way down. He was covered in bruises, cuts, and what looked like thorns. His breathing was labored and he was barely conscious.

"Wards! Guardians! Traps…" He gasped out before he passed out.

"Wow." Harry said before he was next to the curse breaker and casting spells. Hermione was next to him a second later opening her medical bag.

"Bill!" Cassie yelled as she rushed around the table which started the rest of the group getting up to see what was going on.

"OKAY! Everyone calm down!" Harry yelled stopping everyone in their tracks. "Good, go back to your meals, we will handle this. Remain calm. And let us work." Harry said before turning back to his partner. "What are we looking at?" Harry asked closing up the huge slashes across Bill's chest.

"Broken bones, organ damage, internal bleeding, burns, cuts, and bruises. I also detect a good concussion. We need to get him to a bed and get potions into him right now." She said looking worried as she pulled bottles out of her bag.

"Let's get him into the garage for now. Mary can you join us? We might need a hand." Harry said floating the man off the ground and rushing him into the garage. He put a cushioning charm on the pool table and set the dying man on the play surface. He magically stripped Bill as Hermione pulled doses of different healing tonics out of bottles using hypodermic needles.

"What can I do?" Mary Thomas asked as she watched the kids work.

"Prep an IV line, we're going to pump him full of potions to heal him." Harry said as he cast spells at Bill to heal his internal injuries.

"I can do that." Mary said taking the IV line from the table and tying off Bill's arm. In seconds she had the needle in, and taped to Bill's arm. She hooked the IV bag to it and hug it off the pole Harry made. She looked up and Hermione handed her a syringe full of glowing red potion.

"This first. Followed by these three in order down the line. I need to assist Harry." Hermione said.

"I got it." Mary said as she pushed the air out of the syringe before she added the red potion to the IV line.

"Thanks." Hermione said before she rushed around the table to help Harry close up Bill's wounds. They worked frantically for fifteen minutes but they healed Bill fully. Harry poured a power tonic into his mouth and Bill shot up out of his coma.

"Wards!" He yelled before he saw he was naked. "Um," he said covering himself with his hands.

"Relax son, I'm a doctor." Marry said.

"I'm not." Hermione said with a blushing smirk.

"Hermione." Harry said batting her shoulder as he made a screen and handed Bill a pile of clothes. "Get dressed and then you can tell us what happened." Harry said tiredly as he turned and headed back to the table dragging Hermione with him.

"How is he Harry?" Cassie asked as he took his seat and went back to his now cold food.

"Fine, he was touch and go for a second there but we healed his wounds and the potions worked just like we thought they would. The legality of using untested emergency healing tonics on someone without their consent is questionable, but I doubt he'll complain about it." Harry said as he eyes lulled close for a second before he shook his head.

"Harry dear, are you okay?" Emma asked touching his head.

"I'll be fine, I just need to eat and get some sleep. I want to find out what happened before I head off to bed." Harry said yawning.

"I'll tell you what happened. That house is a death trap!" Bill said walking slowly towards the table with Marry helping him.

"Care to explain?" Harry asked.

"I showed up in front of the gates using the portkey. I tested the wards and found weak anti-apparition and portkey wards. I crossed those easy enough and I walked up the long driveway to the front door. The door had a minor lock spell and a regular lock that the key fit. I walked into the house and the lights came on like they should have. I did a sweep of the house and everything was going fine. The house had a few traps and some nasty infestations but I'm talking about standard dark objects, cursed doorways, and doxy infestations. Nothing too major." Bill said sitting in a chair by the table. He took a glass and filled it with water. He drank heavily and sighed.

"Then how did all that happen?" Dan asked.

"Well you see the house is one big trap. I just figured it out too late. The house's wards were made to trap Curse breakers. It allowed me to pass deeper into the house before the wards attacked. I made it all the way up to the third floor master bedroom and found the door to the room locked. I tried the standard spells but the door was stuck. So I tried the old curse breakers trick of vanishing the door. That's when the house went into full on murder mode. Wards locked down the property and even my emergency goblin portkey didn't work. The suits of armor and the stuffed hunting trophies in the hallways and rooms came to life and attacked me. I had to blast my way back to the front door. If I wasn't wearing your shield charm and my full length dragonhide coat I would be dead three or four times over. I made it to the stairs and as I was coming down they collapsed and turning into a slide. At the base of the stairs the floor slid open and I tumbled into a pit full of spikes. I managed to catch the edge of the trap door and that saved my life. I pulled myself up and crawled to the front door. The plants by the front door lashed out at me shooting little thorns at me. I ran out the door and came face to face with a six foot tall gargoyle made of stone with razor sharp claws and a beak that can crush a stone column. I know because it lunged at me and bit the column behind me in half. I hit it with a blasting curse and it did nothing. I ran and it tackled me to the ground. I spun around and it clawed at me but I hit it with a killing cursed and it looked like it stopped moving for a second. I scrambled to my feet and ran into a second gargoyle that raked it's claws across my chest and slammed me to the ground. I felt a bunch of my ribs shatter and I felt myself fading away. I blacked out knowing I was dead and the the next thing I know I'm waking up here." Bill said.

"My god. How are we going to turn the wards off?" Vera asked.

"We have to get through the ward line, passed all of those traps and defences and up to the master bedroom where the ward stone is and turn them off." Bill said looking at the half eaten lamb on Cassie's plate. "You going to finish that?" He asked.

"Here." Harry made him a fresh plate but with that he felt the last bit of his reserves dwindle.

"Thank's!" Bill said before he attacked his plate.

"Eat up and gather whatever you think you need to shut down the wards. Tomorrow we attack that house and take it back. For now, I need some sleep." Harry said standing up on unsteady feet. "Goodnight." He said walking into the house.

"When he said we he meant him?" Bill asked as Harry walked into the house.

"Yes, me and Neville to I suspect. Full frontal assault with sabers and spells." Hermione said.

"Are you sure that safe dear?" Emma asked.

"Mum, it's a lot safer than facing a dark lord. We'll be fine. Bill was almost killed because the house took him by surprise. It was built to trick curse breakers. It lulled him into the heart of the house and then it sprung its trap. We know what we're walking into. We will be in full armor with multiple shield enchantments, and carrying lightsabers. We will be fine. Bill, we will clear a path for you, you just have to shut the wards down once we get you in." Hermione said looking at Neville who locked eyes with her and nodded once.

"I'm coming too. I will stick close to Bill and provide back up incase one of you guys go down and need to be healed. I might not be as good of a fighter as you three, but you all know I'm good at the healing side of things." Susan said.

"Okay, but that's it. With five of us we are strong enough to get in and get to the third floor but small enough to not get in each other's way." Hermione said. "For now we should sit down and map out the house so we know what we're walking into." Hermione said looking at her watch.

They spent the next few hours preparing the assault on the house for the next day and then they headed headed through the trunk and went to bed in their dorm rooms. They spent the next day in class and in between classes they worked on werewolf research and battle plans. They turned back time one day that night and slept in their beds at home. The next day they woke up and it was Tuesday again but this time they were on turned time. They headed down to breakfast. Most of the group had a relaxing morning ahead of them as the new members of the group were going to work out and study as well as run the Longbottoms through some training. At the tail end of breakfast Bill showed up and he ate with them. When they were finished with breakfast they put on their gear. Bill watched Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Susan pull out weapons cases and put on heavy armor vests and wide leather belts with pouches. They clipped a set of two silver cylinders onto the belts. Harry added a gold sword to his belt and added a heavy looking gold chain around his neck made of linked box lockets. He turned to Bill and handed him a vest and a locket chain.

"Put these on. The vest is enchanted dragonhide and the chain is made of box lockets each one has a enchanted shield stone. How are you with a blade?" Harry asked as he helped Bill get the vest on.

"I'm not a danger to myself with a long blade." BIll said as he put the chain on and felt the amount of magic rolling over his form.

"Good, this is a lightsaber. It will cut anything you touch with it. Anything. So keep it unlight and only turn it on if you have to. This red button activates it." Harry said.

"Hey Harry, do you think we should try some guns?" Neville asked looking at his kit.

"Well, the dart guns won't be much help against enchanted armor and we're not trained enough for handguns that fire bullets. We have rifles, but those would be hard to maneuver in a house. Even the lever action winchesters." Harry said looking at his kit.

"What about a pump shotgun Harry?" Dan suggested.

"It's an idea. We really only used them that one time when you showed us how to shoot clay targets." Harry said thinking about it.

"Well you made the set of bird guns for us. Can't you make a pump gun with a shorter barrel that fires a never ending barrage of buckshot?" Dan asked.

"Good question. Hold on." Harry said pulling a book of gun blueprints out of his bag. He set it on the table and paged through it for a minute. "Yes. This might work." Harry said holding out his hands and a Stevens 620 trench shotgun materialized in his hands.

He stepped off to the woods and made a target on a tree thirty feet away. He shouldered the shotgun, worked the action to chamber a round, and fired it blowing the center of the target away with buckshot. The gun was loud and the kick was bad enough to rattle his teeth. Harry shook his head and made a box for the gun. He locked it in the box and set it on the ground at his feet. He held out his hands and he made another Stevens 620. He shoulder this gun, worked the action, and blew out the center of the target again but this time there was no sound and almost no kick but the amount of buckshot looked like it was three times as much. He slung the shotgun over his shoulder and smiled.

"Hey Nev. I think I have a new toy for us." Harry said making another shotgun for Neville who walked over with a smirk.

"Nice. I like the wood and it's got a good weight to it." He said shouldering the gun and test firing it. "Very nice." Neville said with a grin.

"Hey Hermione, You want one too?" He asked.

"Sure, you boys can't have all the fun. Come on you two, let test out the new gear." Hermione said leading Bill and Susan over to where Neville was blasting the tree over and over again in the same spot. After ten minutes they all had a trench shotgun and they all knew how to shoot. Harry watched as they all took out their tree and nodded.

"Okay, I think we're good for now. We're going to work in teams. Hermione and I are going to be team one. Neville you and Susan will be team two. Hermione and I will lead. We will drop anything that moves with our guns. If we encounter something that we can't drop using the guns we will drop them and attack with our sabers. Team two will follow us with Bill. Your job is to protect Bill and get him to the ward stone in the master bedroom. Use the guns and your sabers to take out anything following you guys as we clear your path. Bill should always be close by. Bill your job is going to be to take down the wards so I want you to save your magic for that. Stay safe and stay alive. Let Neville and Susan handle the bulk of the fighting. Is everyone ready to do this?" Harry asked looking at everyone and checking their gear.

"Yes, let's do this!" Neville said

"Wait!" Alice called out as she and Emma ran over to the group and hugged the kids. "Stay safe. This sucks. We should be the ones doing this sort of thing not you kids." She said looking pissed off at herself for being too weak.

"It's fine, it's what we trained for. This was an easy mission with our sabers. With these shoguns this is going to be a cakewalk." Harry said confidently.

"Well still, look out for each other and come home safe." Emma said.

"All of us have ten shield charmed stones on us and each one has an emergency portkey that I made. I can activate those portkeys at any time and we'll land in this backyard." Harry said with a reassuring smile.

"Good. Stay as safe as you can be." Emma said as she backed away from the group with Alice.

"Okay, Bill hold out the portkey and let's ride out." Harry said holding his shotgun by the pump grip in his left hand as he touched the key with his right. The rest of the group followed his example. When they were all touching the gold key Bill intoned 'Go' and they vanished. They landed outside the gate and Harry shouldered his shotgun as he scanned the yard with his mage sight. He saw two massive enchanted objects on the roof and a third one in the distance somewhere. He smiled as the two objects stopped moving and focused on them.

"Bill open the gate, everyone else, the gargoyles are on the roof waiting for us to cross the ward line. When the gate is open I want us to rush the house and keep your eyes up and your head on a swivel. Do as much damage to the house as we need to I can fix it tomorrow." Harry said as Bill approached the gate with the key.

Bill opened the gate and swung it open. Harry and Hermione rushed into the yard with their guns up. Harry watched as the two big gargoyles jumped off the roof and ran at them. Harry waited until the lead gargoyle was forty foot away and started pumping shots at it. Hermione followed his lead with the second dog monster. The buckshot took huge chips out of the stone beasts but they were still coming. As they crossed the ten foot mark from them Harry dropped his gun and pulled the two sabers off his belt. He lit them and attacked the advancing stone beast with a set of double uppercut swings that split his stone dog monster in three pieces. He swung a few more times to make sure it was down before looking up and seeing Hermione finishing off her beast the same way. He shared a smirk with her before he summoned the two shotguns off the ground and tossed her one as they kept running for the front door.

Twenty foot to the front door Harry held out his right hand and ripped the door and the door frame out of the wall and tossed it aside. He saw the two big fren looking plants inside the front entryway and blasted them with a few shots blowing the plants, as well as a good portion of the first two stairs and the marble floor, away. They slowed to a walk as they approached the hole in the wall where the door used to be. Harry walked slightly ahead of Hermione and scanned the entryway with his mage sight. He could see the wards crackling in the walls and he tracked movement of three enchanted objects in the room to the left off the entryway. He held up three fingers and pointed at the doors to what he guessed was a parler. He force pushed the doors open and two big cats and a huge brown bear in the room turned and attacked. Harry blasted the lion with two shots as Hermione took out the lioness. They both hit the bear with two shots but it kept advancing. Again Harry dropped his shotgun and pulled his sabers. He waited until the charging bear got close enough to swipe at him before he spun away from the claws and cut the bear in half. He was about to summon his gun when a book case shifted into a wood gargoyle and attacked him when his back was turned. He spun away from the attack and bisected the wood cat beast like a loaf of bread. He quartered it with a return double underhand swing and scanned the room with his mage sight one more time to make sure he got everything. Hermione handed him his shotgun.

"This is not working. Susan, I need you to work with Hermione using the shotguns and I'll be on permanent saber duty. Neville, watch Bill's back." Harry said slinging his shotgun across his back as he looked at the staircase and the door to the dining room across the hall.

"Harry, way don't we just rush to the Master bedroom and let Bill get started. We can defend the third floor hallway as he works, it will funnel these things into one hallway and we can concentrate fire." Neville said.

"That's a good question. All in favor?" Harry asked.

"I think it's a plan. It's better then clearing room to room." Hermione said.

"It will be a bigger fight but it will be the only fight." Susan said.

"Then we go right to the top and we fly up to cut the risk of the stairs collapsing on us." Harry said pulling his broom out as well as a second broom that he tossed to Bill.

"This is a nice broom." Bill said looking at the Nimbus 2000.

"Keep it, I can make more. Saber's out! Cut down anything that approaches you." Harry said holding his broom with his left hand and his saber with his right.

He waited for the rest of the group to coppie him before he lead the charge up the winding staircase. At the top of the first staircase there was a line of three suits of armor waiting for them. Harry blasted through the line with his saber parallel to the floor and bisected the three guardians causing a clatter as the plate steel hit the floor. Harry made the sharp turn and headed up the second staircase as a flock of six birds came at him at full dive from the third floor. Harry pulled six of the framed pictures off the wall and flung them into the birds making a cloud of feathers he blasted through as he crested the top of the stars and came face to face with a Hippogryph rearing up with its fore leg talons extended. Harry charged the beat with his saber out in front of him and slammed into the horse bird with enough force to push it back down the hall. Harry roll to his feet, summoned his other saber off his belt, ignited it, and double slashed the bird horse into six chunks of smoldering hair and feathers. He looked back and saw the rest of the group crest the stairs as five suits of armor charged down the hall with swords out. He was about to warn them when Hermione and Neville hopped off their brooms and took the five animated suits of armor down with quick and vicious strikes that carved the armor into strips of hot steel.

"Nice work." Harry said to Hermione who turned to look at him. Her eyes got wide and Harry ducked out of the way. As he moved a huge mase hit the floor putting a hole in the wood. Harry looked up at a ten foot tall Helmed Horror in black armor with horns and spikes sticking out of the platemail he was made of. The huge black knight pulled the six foot long mace that looked like it weighed fifty pounds out of the floor and it attacked Harry with it's huge spiked tower shield. Harry blocked the shield with a force push and rolled under it's legs. He popped up to his feet and plunged both of his sabers into the back of the knight and pulled his arms apart cutting the torso in half. He struck again splitting the torso into pieces before taking the legs apart with two more swings. He looked at the group as the doors at the other end of the hall busted open and a pack of five dire wolves came charging down the hall heading for the group. Harry ran to the group with his sabers up.

"Susan and Neville get Bill into the master bedroom!" He yelled as he threw his left saber at the head wolve. The blade of blue energy shot through the wolf like a hot knife through butter taking a good chunk of the head and front left quarter with it making the wolf miss a step and tumble into the other four wolves buying the group enough time to run by him and Hermione to turn on the pack with her pump gun. She hit the wolves with a wall of buckshot dropping three of the four still moving wolves as Harry cut the fourth wolf in two with his saber. Harry summoned his other saber and they both ran after the group down the hall.

They found two blasted apart suits of armor and the door to the bedroom was ripped out of the wall leaving a good sized hole. Inside the room the big bed was tossed aside and Bill on his knees casting spells at a runic symbol on the floor with a big rough cut blue stone in the center that was glowing and pulsing. Neville and Susan were looking around the room with their guns at the ready.

"Did you force pull the door out of the wall Nev?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Yeah but Sue took out the suits of armor." Neville said.

"Harry, we got company!" Hermione called out from the doorway. Harry looked out into the hall and saw a huge six foot tall spider coming up the stairs. Hermione blasted the spider with her gun but the hide took the impacts and showed no damage. Harry threw his left saber on a flat plane spin and it swept past the big spider taking out two of it's legs on the right hand side at the first knuckle making the big spider stumble. Harry followed it up with his right saber which flew end over end cutting a big grove up the spiders back making it screech an unholy sound as it's fangs twitched and contracted and it's glassy eyes focused on Harry.

Harry grabbed the two sabers off Hermione's belt as the big bug limped towards them. He lit them and floated them with his magic. He spun the sabers like a lawnmower and pushed them at the spider. The spinning blades met spider flesh and the results was a mess so bad Hermione almost lost her lunch. The was black icker and viscera all over the hallway and the floor was covered in chunks of spider. Harry was just starting to relax when thousands of little hand sized spiders came pouring out of the body of the spider. Harry summoned the lightsabers and pulled hermione into the bedroom. He sealed up the hole in the wall where the door was with plate steel. They turned around and saw Bill still kneeling over the stone casting spells at it. The sound of thousands of spiders trying to breach the steel door was deafening.

"How's it going out there, Good I hope?" Neville asked as the sound of little pincers chewing on the plaster walls got louder.

"It's going, how about in here?" Harry asked waving at the wall and making it plate steel.

"It's going." Neville said as a gryphon gargoyle came busting through the window in the bedroom. Harry charged the stone bird cat and chopped it down to brick sized stones with a fury of blows.

"Hey Bill, Curse breaking is not my thing but can I get an ETA on when you might have control over the house?" Harry asked as he bared the windows with steel plunging the room into darkness for a second as Hermione conjured a few lanterns.

"The wards are fighting me because they know I'm not a the owner of the property." Bill said as sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Should I get Cassie?" Harry asked.

"Not unless she can cast curse breaker level spells. The house is in full lockdown and unless you have the password or you have the same blood that made the wards in the first place and you can over power this stone you're not taking down the wards." Bill said.

"Right, move aside Bill." Harry said as the spiders started to come through holes in the ceiling.

"WHat?!" Bill said seeing the spiders crawling down the walls.

"Get out of my way!" Harry said pushing Bill out of the circle to the feet of the group. He waved at the group to put a shield up around them. He took the knife out of his boot and cut his palm. He held his hand out and blood pooled him his palm. A second later he slammed his hand on the blue stone and forced his magic through the blood. There was a bright flash of light and when it faded the spiders were gone. Harry smiled and fell over.

"Harry!" Hermione called out as she rushed to his side and healed his hand.

"How is he?" Neville asked keeping his gun at the ready.

"He's fine, just drained. He blasted the hell out of those wards though." Hermione said pulling a power tonic off her belt and fed it to Harry.

"Yes he did, how the hell did he force the wards to accept him as their master?" Bill said running scans on the ward stone that was glowing brighter than before.

"Blood match." Harry groaned out as he sat up.

"WHat?" Bill asked.

"Blood match. Sirius told me that every house shares blood because somewhere up the family tree we are all intermixed. I cut my hand, and pooled all of the Lestrange magical blood I had in my system to my hand and forced the wards to except me. Hurt like hell." Harry said shaking his head.

"I have never seen anything like this. You rewrote the code of the wards. At this very moment they are rebuilding the defences." Bill said as the stone gryphon reformed and stood up. Neville sung his gun up to blast it but the stone beast bowed to Harry and looked at the metal window confused. Harry waved at the windows and the door and it went back to normal. The beast jumped out the window and the window fixed itself. Out in the hall the spider iker was gone and the helmed horror walked by the bedroom door as it headed into the study. Neville tracked it with his gun.

"This is freaky Harry." Neville said as the hippogryph reformed and headed to the other end of the hallway where it went back into the wall with it's head sticking out before the wall sealed up around it.

"It's all a part of the wards and after the fight we just had I'm confident Vera and Cassie are as safe as can be." Harry said getting up off the floor.

"But they still have to live in this house of horrors." Susan said looking at the suits of armor that took their places by the stairs.

"So we can redress some of this stuff but I'm going to recommend to the Ladies Lestrange that they keep these horrors. Now let's head back to the house. Root Beers are on me people." Harry said making a portkey.

They all gathered around Harry and soon they were standing in the Granger's back yard. As soon as they landed the moms were on them. Harry summoned cold mugs and bottles from the cooler as he dropped into a seat at the bar. The kids explained how things went, they left out most of the near death things, but they said the house was under Harry's control and he would hand over control to Cassie as soon as she could control the wards.

After lunch Harry and Hermione portkeyed back to the house with Cassie and Vera. Vera got her first look at the house she was born and raised in since the age of eleven. She looked at the greystone manor house and tears rolled down her cheeks as her knees gave out. Harry and Cassie caught her and held her up as they walked through the gate headed to the spooky looking house.

"I have not seen this house in so long. Fog Hill." She said softly.

"Why Fog Hill Gran?" Cassie asked.

"We are backed up to the sea to the northeast and the hills to the southwest. When it rains and the cold air sweeps through here the fog rolls in so thick you need to stay on the gravel path to find your way to the house and the out buildings or you're liable to get lost for hours. We had a caretaker, Mr. Cutler, that tried to cut the grass and the fog rolled in thick and deep and he was lost for three hours." She said with a soft sad smile.

"It's a bit dark and drewry Gran." Cassie said as they approached the front door.

"Our family has never been one for joy and merriment. But we can change all that Cassie dear. We can add life to the place." Vera said patting her granddaughter on the arm.

"Trust me this house is full of life. The wards proved that." Harry said under his breath as he looked at the roof of the house to see the gargoyles perched up there looking scary and intimidating.

"What was that Harry dear?" Vera asked.

"Nothing, I was just saying the house just needs a little light." Harry said catching Cassie's eye as she tried not to laugh.

They spent the a few hours walking through the house making notes and looking at what was in the house and what needed to be fixed or upgraded. As they walked through the house Vera pointed out things to her granddaughter. Harry and Hermione stayed out of their way and followed along making suggestions and recommendations about wards and what had to stay and what could go. They also made suggestions about what Harry could make for them so they wouldn't have to try to track down what they were looking for.

The group portkeyed back to the Granger's house in time for dinner. Bill was still at the house talking to Dan and Frank at the bar and that night Cassie sat close to him at dinner. They flirted shamelessly and most of the table had to keep their laughter from spilling out. When they both reached for the bread basket at the same time and they blushed when their hands touched Harry laughed so hard he choked on the piece of chicken in his mouth. After dinner Hermione set up Lady and Geoff the horses for them and they took a slow ride around the path using floating lanterns and lumos spells to light their way. The ride that should have normally taken no more than an hour at the slowest pace took close to two hours and Harry had to fly out over the woods to call them in. He found them snogging on a blanket just down the path to the back yard and made sure to announce himself before he got too close for fear of seeing something he could not unsee. On his way back to the house Harry looked up at the almost full moon and it reminded him of the job he still needed to do. They were sure they had a more stable and healthier alternative to the wolfsbane almost locked up but they were also sure that with enough time and the right books they could have the curse beat. Harry flew back to the house and made a note in his head to see if the Lestrange library had any books on werewolves.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I've gotten a few PMs and reviews asking when I'm going to get them to school already. The answer is never now. Attending classes and doing homework makes no sense since they have all seven years of NEWT prep in their heads already. A majority of you guys said the making friends and allies stuff was boring and dragging the story down so I cut it. I cut almost everything "school" related out to get to the end of this story which is the death of Voldemort and the kids living happily ever after. I figure 4-6 chapters will get me there.

The next day at lunch time Bill came to the house with a metal box and a look on his face like he saw a ghost. Harry greeted him with a smile but it fell off his face at the look in Bill's eyes.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"I need to talk to you in private." Bill said transferring the box, which was about the size of a shoebox made of a dark wood on it's side with a briefcase handle from one hand to the other. That allowed Harry to see the glowing runes on the handle of the box.

"Okay, I'll get Hermione, we work as a team and she's more book smart than I am. She's also better at enchantments and wards. Why don't you head into the garage and pour yourself a pint." Harry said patting the tired looking man on the back.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Bill said walking into the garage he grabbed a bottle of lager and a chilled mug from the cooler and sat at the bar. He set the case next to him on the dark wood bar and looked at it. That's how Harry and Hermione found him.

"Hey Bill, what's in the Box?" Harry asked.

"Harry do you know what a Horcrux is?" Bill asked.

"Sounds vaguely familiar." Harry said looking to Hermione.

"We read about it in Axton's notes for the DoM. It's a vessel used in a ritual to split your soul and store it in said vessel to cheat death. It's a nasty bit of magic. You found one?" Hermione asked looking at the box.

"Yes, it was in the Lestrange vault, and I think I know who it belongs to. Normally I would take something like this to my bosses at the bank and they would be able to tell me for sure but I thought it would be a better idea to keep this under wraps. I was hoping you would know someone that could…" Hermione cut him off.

"Cast the detection and dispelling rituals? We know of them but we would need to build a chamber to cast them safely. Also I would like to consult with an Unspeakable before we did anything. This is a very powerful and nasty branch of dark magic. I wouldn't dare try this without supervision from a master of the unknown arcana. I think it's time we called a meeting with Neville's great uncle Algie." She said looking at the box.

"First I think we should transfer that object into something more powerful. I can feel the evil rolling off that box. The magics of the box are not strong enough." Harry said hovering his hand over the box and shaking his head.

"This is a Curse Breaker's safety box. It can contain a bomb. The box should be fine." BIll said taking the box off the bar and standing up.

"Bill, I know we just met you but I think you're acting funny. Why don't you set the box down?" Harry said in a calming tone of voice.

"But I'm fine Harry, and why would I set my box down? It's my box. Why would you want me to set it down if it's my box? You want to take my box! You want it for yourself!" Bill said getting loud and drawing atten to himself from the group outside of the garage.

"Bill, I need you to listen to me very carefully, I don't want your box. You can keep it I just want you to think about the way you're acting right now and tell me if you think you're acting normal." Harry said as Neville and his father came into the garage and saw Harry trying talk Bill down.

"NO! You can't take it from me! IT"S MINE!" Bill yelled.

"Right, Drop him Nev." Harry said making a gold box with runes etched all over it and a fist sized diamond in the center of the lid as Neville snuck up behind Bill and grabbed him in a bear hug and cast a stunning spell into his body to bypass the shield stone Harry gave the curse breaker. Bill went limp in his arms and Harry floated the box up out of Bill limp grasp. He floated his gold box under Bill's box. He then vanished Bill's box and a gold cup fell into Harry's gold box and he slammed the lid closed. In the split second the cup was exposed to the air they all felt a cold oily feeling wash over them. The gem on the lid of the gold box glowed and pulsed for a few seconds.

"Let's get Bill out of this room before we wake him up." Hermione said levitating the curse breaker and floating him out of the garage.

"Neville, I think it's time we set up a meeting with your great uncle. I think it's time we talk to a higher power." Harry said looking at the gold box but not touching it.

"I'll make a call, he's been wanting to meet you and Hermione for a while now." Neville said pulling out his phone.

A half hour later found Harry and Hermione sitting in the parlor of Neville's house with Neville, his parents, and his gran drinking tea. Bill was asleep on a fainting couch off to the side of the room. He was not asleep by choice. Harry fed him a sleeping draught when he started ranting and raving the second they un-stunned him. He was also wrapped up in magic damping chains. Harry cast a monitoring charm on the gold box again to make sure it was okay.

"No change?" Hermione asked.

"No, the enchantments are holding. We really need to keep something like this with us from now on." Harry said before he sat up taller. "Someone is in the entryway." Harry said looking at the closed door to the room.

"Yeah, I know. It's uncle Algie." Neville said getting up and walking out of the room.

Neville came back a minute later with an older man in his seventies. He had grey hair cut short and thinning at the top to form two deep widows peaks and a thick but we kept grey beard. He was tall and thin with thick gold rimmed glasses. He had a kind look to his face and a slight limp to his walk. He was dressed in a dark grey suit that looked like it had seen better days and over the top of that was a grey robe that looked very familiar to both Harry and Hermione. Most people would think a man like this was old and frail but he carried himself like a man that knew how to kill. A predator and a powerful one at that by the amount of power rolling off him as he crossed the room. His shoes made no sound as they hit the marble floors. Harry tracked him with his eyes and the old man tracked Harry with his. It was mutual respect. Both men knew they were the biggest threats in the room. As he got closer his eyes shifted to the gold box and his eyebrows went up. Augusta stood out of her chair and hugged the man in grey with a big smile something that was an almost permanent feature of her face now.

"Algie! I'm so glad you could come on such short notice." Augusta said.

"Of course. Frank, Alice, how are you two feeling?" He asked as he looked at the two in their work out clothes. Both were looking toned and strong.

"Good thanks to the kids." Alice said smiling at Harry and Hermione who both stood up to greet their future boss.

"Yes, I can see that." He said turning to look at the two of them. "I'm algernon Croaker it's good to finally meet you two." He said shaking first Harry's and then Hermione's hands.

"We wanted to hold off meeting you until we were ready to be interviewed for the department to stem any whispers of favoritism. We hope to receive black envelopes upon completion of our NEWTs." Harry said in a formal tone while holding himself up to his full height.

"So Neville has told me. And under normal circumstances you would both receive black letters but I think we can do away with all that when it comes to two Order of Merlin holders. Your research and grasp of magic is truly something else. I had my staff look over your potion patent. Two of the three potions masters could not reverse engineer it back to it's base ingredient list and the third gave up after two days of trying. I think we can work something out where you two can start using the labs and the library in the DoM. As I understand it you both have gear already?" He asked.

"We do, we would have turned it over to the department but we wanted to get used to wearing it and we also wanted to see if we could reverse engineer the enchantments. We have by the way and I'm happy to tell you we found a few ways to improve on your design." Hermione said pulling her black robe out of her bag and handing it to the head Unspeakable with a big smile.

"Oh my!" Algie said turning the robe inside out and looking over the enchantment string connected to a flat sheet of gemstone the size of a playing card attached to the back of the robe under the neck line with his mage sight. "You have a power rune connected to three shield charms and powered by a power draining enchantment that absorbs spell fire. Why the hell didn't we... Right. As of now you are both hired full stop. We will deal with the paperwork later. We need to make more of these for the department. If we had this three years ago we could have saved Pandora's life." Algie said looking sad and haunted.

"Pandora is dead?" Alice asked looking shocked.

"Pandora?" Harry asked.

"Lovegood. She was our head researcher. She died from an enchantment she was working on. It blew up in her face. This could have saved her life." He said.

"That name sounds familiar." Hermione said.

"It's Ollivanders nephew." Harry said making a mental note to talk to and get to know the daughter a member of the department was lost. Her daughter would need help and guidance. Losing a parent was tarmatic.

"You know Ollivander?" Algie asked looking at the boy.

"Yes. We're business partners. He's making wand handles for the crystal wand shafts I created. This is all going to come out soon but we want to expand the school to teach weaker witches and wizards that did not get their letters. The shafts work on the power stone principle to power weak spells." Harry explained making a crystal wand with a smoky quartz shaft and grey ash wood handle. "Gery ash right?" Harry asked handing the wand over to his new boss.

"How did you know?" Algie asked.

"Your wand is sticking out of your belt holster. A quick scan and I had it. Give it a go, I precharged it." Harry said nodding at the slimpe wand.

"Okay." Algie said and the wand glowed bright he shook it and it shut off. "I barely had to think lumos and it lit." He said looking at the wand in his hand.

"Again, we are happy to share this with our Unspeakable coworkers." Harry said.

"This is unbelievable." He said looking at the pair of eleven year olds.

"Hey, I hate to break up this little game of show and tell but can we get back to the box of dark magic?" Frank said.

"Right. I almost forgot. Let's see what we're working with?" Algie asked.

"Bill, our curse breaker was tasked with looking over the Lestrange vault for the newly reinstated Lestrange ladies. He found a gold cup that he said was a horcrux. He said it was very powerful and that it might belong to Voldemort. When we tried to transfer the cup to a stronger box he freaked out on us. We had to sleeping drought him and chain him up with magical suppressing chains. I then transferred the cup to this box I made. It's been holding up good so far but I don't know if it will hold up forever." Harry explained.

"Good call with the box. I'm guessing he used a curse breaker's box. Normally it would hold up but if these power reading are right then this horcrux it too strong for that. This box is, again, ingenous. Your mind works in truly amazing ways. We need to get this to the safe room in the DoM before we open this box. You think this belongs to him?" Algie asked waving his new wand over the gold box.

"Bill thought so, and I know so. That cup has a piece of the dark lord's soul. We have a bigger problem than just the cup in the box. Ever since I got close to that cup an hour ago my scar has been itching and burning. It also gives off the same magical signature. I've always known this scar is full of dark energy. I've walled it off from my core and I've shielded it from my mind but the closer I get to the cup the stronger the scar pain gets. If that's a horcrux, and this scare is a horcrux then how do we get rid of them both?" Harry asked as the room around him got very quiet.

"Harry, how long…"

"Since I transferred it into the gold box Hermione. The power of the cup hit me right in the face. I've been contemplating it ever since then. Axton's notes said the easy way to remove the soul from the cursed object was to break the object. Obviously we can't just kill me, that would suck, so how can we get it out?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure to tell you the truth." Algie said looking at Harry's scar. He raised his wand and he was about to point it at Harry but stopped. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"Not at all." Harry said waving him on.

"Sometimes you forget to ask." Algie said with a smile trying to break up the tension in the room. He cast a few spells and hummed before casting a few more. He then clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"WHat's that supposed to me?" Hermione asked with just a bit too much heat in her tone.

"It means that this scar is not a normal Horcrux. This was not created by the ritual. This looks desperate and dirty. There's good news and bad news. The good news is it's a small piece of his soul and it can't poses you. The bad news is it's very attached to your soul. As of right now I can't see a way to remove it without killing you. We can work on it but as of right now it's attached." He said looking sad.

"That's what I thought. Okay. let's get this cup to the lab and see what we're working with." Harry said calmly.

"WHAT!?" Alice and Hermione said at the same time.

"What?" Harry asked as he flinched.

"How can you be so calm?!" Alice asked rushing up to him and hugging him.

"Yeah, what she said." Hermione said hugging him and crying.

"Why should I be freaked out? We cured brain damage, failing health, that house yesterday, and we're looking at the werewolf curse. I'm sure we can, if we put our minds to it, solve any problem that comes up. You all need to relax. And they call me high strung." Harry said laughing.

"That's the spirit Harry. I wasn't freaking out." Neville said laughing with him.

"Good looking out brother. Now let's get this evil cup to the office. I can't believe we're Unspeakables." Harry said with a huge smile before it fell off his face. He stood up tall, pulled a grey robe out of his bag, and put it on. He looked to his new boss as Hermione followed his lead.

"Alright. Let's head out. Neville, would you like to join us?" Algie asked.

"Sure, does this mean I'm in as well?" He asked pulling out his black robe.

"Not yet, these two I can make a case for they are going to get Order of Merlin medals next week, but you still have to pass your NEWTs." Algernon said picking up the gold box with a glove.

"That's cool. So we're talking a few years then?" Neville said following his uncle out of the room with his friends.

"Yes, that reminds me, using a time turner without department permission is highly illegal. Lucky for you I put the paperwork in when Neville told me about how you were studying over the summer." He said holding out a gold badge the letters DoM over a book with crossed wands.

Without saying anything the kids all touched the gold shield and with a "go" they were spinning before they landed in a circular room with red doors. Gold name plates appeared on the doors and Algernon lead them through a door marked Labs. They followed down a hallway with big vault like doors as they walked down the hall a few other people in grey robes saw them and they looked at Harry and Hermione with wide eyes but they kept to themselves for the most part. The exception being a tall thin woman of spanish descent that stopped them in the hall. She had very pale skin and dark violet colored eyes. Her long black hair looked wet and pulled back into a tight bun. She wore light makeup but her lips were dark crimson red. Her grey robes were loose but her black low cut dress was tight and stopped at mid thigh to show off her long toned legs. Both Harry and Neville were caught looking by Hermione.

"Tongues back in your heads boys." She said with an edge to her voice.

"WHat?" Harry asked shaking his head.

"It's not his fault. I'm excited to met you both and I think I let my power slip. Maria Rios, I'm the head Potions master in the department, and I'm also a vampire. Sorry for the full blast of charm I hit you with." She said shaking Hermione's hand first as she turned to the blushing boys.

"What." Harry said holding out his hand.

"Sorry." She said taking Harry's hand. Her hand was cold to the touch and very strong.

"No it's fine, Harry Potter." Harry said spotting the family ring on her finger he bent low and brushed his lips across her knuckles. "My lady." He added in a formal tone.

"Very good lord Potter." She said with a smile and nod as she turned to Neville.

"Neville Longbottom my lady." Neville said copying Harry.

"Very good recovery boys." She said laughing with Algie.

"What did you need Maria?" Algernon asked still grinning.

"I wanted to formally welcome the pair that came up with a potion I could not crack. It was the highlight of my year. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stump me?" She said excitedly.

"It took a lot out of us to come up with the formula but we hope the potion does a lot of good." Hermione said confidently.

"I'll bet. I took me three days to find the root in an old druidic mind healing tonic." Maria said.

"Maria, I'm sure you three could talk for hours but we have a Dark Lords horcrux to deal with." Algie said holding up the box.

"Oh! Sorry I stopped you. Should I go get Victor?" She asked as she pulled a short gold rod from her robes and cast a few spells at the box.

"Yes please. Also I want your opinion on something as well." Algie said.

"I be back in a minute." She said rushing off down the hall at a fast jog making almost no sound even though she was wearing heels.

"Victor?" Harry asked as they continued down the hall.

"Hoffmann, Master of enchantments and the Dark arts from Durmstrang, and the department's head Enchanter for three decades. He's the man to talk to about this. I also trust him with my life. The same with Maria and a few other department heads. I've worked with them for decades." He said stopping in front of a heavy vault door marked "Dark Enchantments" and punching in a rune set to unlock the door. Inside the room was a thick slab table made of marble covered in runes and on top of the table was a box made of thick glass also covered in runes. Algie set the box on the table as Maria came into the room with an older man in his sixties with salt and pepper hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, cold blue eyes set deep in his angular face, high cheekbones, thin lips set in a sneer, and a pointy goatee that outlined his pointy chin. He was wearing a black suit, black shirt and black tie. If you pointed to him and Maria and said one of these two people is a vampire they would always point to VIctor every time. The man looked like death and he moved like a predator. He might be the head of dark magic but he was an operative first.

"I hear we are dealing with a Horcrux? It's been awhile since we had one of those down here." He said with a hint of excitement masked by a heavy German accent.

"Yes, from the dark lord, and it's powerful." Algie said stepping back from the gold box.

"Really?" Victor asked with a shocked look on his face. He walked up to the box and cast a few spells. "Yes, we need to get it in the box and see what we're working with. I think it might be time to get the kids out of the room." He said casting a few spells at the glass box.

"Victor! These are not kids, they are our co-workers. Lord Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. They made the mind healing tonic." Maria said prompting the thin man to pause.

"Really?" He asked turning to look at the two.

"Yes really and if you want to get the cup out of the box you're going to need me to do it. I made the box, I sealed the cup in the box, and only I can open that box." Harry said feeling defencive.

"Begging your pardon. I'm not used to working with young prodigies." Victor said bowing slightly.

"It's fine, we really didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves. Now is there a way to trap the dark magical signature rolling off the cup?" Harry asked.

"Maybe, it depends on what you plan on doing with it." Victor said.

"Make a tracking device to find the rest of these things." Harry said.

"I've never thought about it. Maybe?" Victor said scratching his chin.

"What are you thinking about using Harry?" Hermione asked looking at her partner.

"I'm thinking a three dimensional compass that glows as you get closer to the magical signature." Harry said.

"It's simple enough. It would work on a modified pointment spell mixed with a dark detection spell." She said pulling out her note book and drawing out a few rune strings.

"Yes that was what I was thinking as well." He said leaning over her shoulder to look at her work.

"These two always like this?" Algie asked Neville as Victor looked over Hermione's other shoulder.

"Yes. This is how they get started. Next thing they'll ask for is books." Neville said.

"He's right, we need to look at a book on tracking charms." Hermione said.

"They can also hear you no matter how deep into their work they get." Neville said with a smirk.

"The library is down the hall to the round room and through the door marked library. I can take you." Algie said Leading them out the door.

"Harry, where are you going? You need to stay here to open the box and trap the essence." Hermione said.

"Good call." Harry said turning back to the room with Victor and Maria.

"Got lost there did you?" Maria asked with a smirk.

"I kind of did. So how are we going to do this?" Harry asked looking to the two masters in the room as the vault door was shut and locked.

"First thing we need to do is get the item out of the gold box and into the glass box we can…" Victor stopped talking as Harry floated the bottomless glass box over the gold box and vanished the gold box. "Next time warn me yeah? We take thing slow and methodical in this room. Things, they go boom in here." Victor said with a chuckle.

"Sorry I'm used to working with Hermione. I'm the magical brawn and she's the brains. I will follow your lead." Harry said looking sheepish.

"You're doing fine Harry." Maria said putting her hand on his shoulder as Victor checked the placement of the box. "Victor is just set in his ways." She whispered to him.

"I heard that, I'm old but I'm not deef. You old bat." He tossed over his shoulder with a smirk.

"Old Bat!" She said laughing.

"You know, when we thought about working for the DoM we never envisioned this working atmosfear. We thought it would be a lot of dower nerds and bookworms working quietly over old tomes and caldrons." Harry said trying not to laugh at the byplay.

"Harry, we deal with dangerous shit everyday. Do you have any idea how many times we almost get killed a year by touching the wrong thing or adding the wrong ingredient? We have to have a sense of humor. If not, it gets too tense down here, and we're liable to kill each other. We good Victor, or are you going to look at the glass box all day? I might be immortal but I have shit to do." She said.

"Ready to go demon woman." Victor said backing up. "Okay maker man vanish the box." He said turning to Harry.

"Maker Man? I like it. It sound very DC comics." Harry said vanishing the gold box. As soon as it disappeared the cup glowed and a black tendril of magic shot out at Harry but stopped at the glass wall.

"Now you see why I double checked the glass box." Victor said running a few scans on the cup.

"I'll say! It was coming for my face." Harry said backing up into Maria.

"SO many jokes. Try to keep it PG." Maria muttered.

"What?" Harry asked turning to look at her.

"Nothing." She said stifling a giggle. "Victor is it killable?" She asked.

"Yes. it's powerful but it's not attached to the cup very well. The dark lord wanted to make sure he could get his soul back if things went wrong. There looks to be an activation password to siphon the soul out. This is a nasty bit of work. It looks like someone triggered the cup and it's trying to leech power from them to self actualize." Victor said.

"Our friend Bill is a curse breaker. He found the cup in the Lestrange vault. He's the one that triggered the cup. He was acting strange and very protective of it." Harry said.

"Yes. the cup has a Gollum enchantment." Victor said nodding when he got two blank stares back he looked mildly offended. "Gollum? Lord of the Rings?" He said.

"Oh. yeah. I've read it before. What's that have to do with anything?" Harry asked.

"The books are based in real magic. The one ring was a Horcrux. It had an enchantment on it to possess the holder of the Horcrux and make them a slave to it. To protect it. Until the owner could siphon off enough power to regain a body. It kills the slave. The Gollum if you will. Ever since those books came out we in the curse breaking business call it the Gollum enchantment. Your friend Bill will know what he was hit with when he wakes up. Now that the classroom portion of today's lesson is over let's get back to the evil cup. I can strip the soul out of the cup. Put it in a container and we can toss it through the veil. I can also end the enchantments on the cup. Normally we just seal up the glass box and chuck it through the veil but you want to keep the dark magical essence. So I'm going to need two containers. Strong enough to hold a lot of dark power. That's your cue Maker man." Victor said.

"Right. First the soul jail." Harry said closing his eyes and concentrating.

He held out his hand and a gold six inch cube formed inside the glass box next to the cup. As soon as it came to be, the cup attacked it with its black tendrils, but it stopped almost immediately. Instead the black tendrils pushed the cup back into a corner of the box but it was too late. The gold box started to glow. The cup let out a scream and the black energy sucked from the cup into the box. A second later the box stopped glowing and the cup looked normal but the runes on the gold box glowed blood red and pulsed.

"What the hell was that kid?" Victor asked.

"I made a box to strip out the soul and store it until it goes through this veil you keep talking about. Now I'm going to make a container to house the dark matter and strip the dark enchantments on the cup. I understand that you guys work methodically. But I work fast and overpowered. I know that box will hold his dark soul until it can be killed in this veil you talked about. Just like I know this gold cylinder will suck the dark enchantments from the cup. See." Harry said waving at the glass box.

A gold cylinder about the size of a roll of pound coins formed. Again it sucked the dark magic from the cup and blood red runes from on the gold cylinder. Harry waited for a few seconds before looking at Victor.

"It's clear. You can unseal the box now." Harry said.

"If you don't mind I'm just going to check it and see first. You work by making merical gold boxes I work with spells and incantations. You're eleven and I'm sixty-five. I've lived this long because I check and double check things." Victor said.

"I don't mind at all. I would check to make sure but I don't know the spells and enchantments. I can only monitor the amount of dark magic rolling off the object." Harry said.

"Well what a perfect time to learn. Let's make sure you make it to sixty-five." Victor said.

"I know these spells so this is my cue to leave. See you later Harry. Come by my office before you go I have a few notes for your potion that I would love to talk to you two about." Maria said winking at Harry with a smile before she walked out of the room and resealed the vault door.

A half hour later the two emerged from the lab with Harry floating the gold box in front of him. They walked through a few hall ways and came to a room that was bowl shaped with a platform in the center. On the platform was an arch way with a flowing black veil. Harry could feel the power of the arch way. It was cold but not dark. It felt like death. As they approached the box glowed brighter as the soul inside fought to get away from the archway. Harry looked at the box and grind coldly.

"To hell with you! The rest is coming soon." Harry said as he chucked the box through the archway. As the box crossed the archway the box vanished and the black soul formed a specter of a man before it was pulled through the vail and vanished with a scream. In his head he felt a pinch and he heard a scream as the soul piece inside his scar felt the death of the cup horcrux. He fell to his knees as a feeling of rage and pain shot through him. "Shit." He said as Victor cast spells on him to see what was wrong.

"What happend Kid?" Victor asked as Harry popped back up on his feet.

"The piece of his soul in my head knew we destroyed the piece in the cup. He knows. We need to collect them all as fast as we can so he can't move them or reclaim them." Harry said holding his head.

"We also have to find a way to pull that out of your head. In fact, why didn't you just pull it out of your head like the cup?" Victor asked scanning the scar.

"Algernon said it's attached to my soul." Harry said.

"I see that, but your box pulled the soul from the cup. I don't see why it can't pulled the soul from your soul." Victor said.

"Maybe. I mean I can try." Harry said making another gold box. He held it to his head and nothing happened. Then Harry started thrashing about until he chucked the box away. "No go. It's stuck. I could feel it ripping something out of me as it was pulled out." Harry said rubbing his head.

"What we need to do is pull both souls out. Have the box strip away the dark piece of soul and put your soul back in your body." Victor said.

"Sure because that's easy." Harry said rolling his eyes as he took a healing tonic out and drink it.

"It is. We need a soul trap. Then we need to kill you. And trap the two souls with the box and let the box do it's job." Victor said with a shrug.

"Just kill me?" Harry mocked with a shrug.

"I'm thinking drowning, or something not to volent." Victor said.

"Your serious!?" Harry asked.

"Deadly, pardon the pun. Maria can assist us. She know ritual blood magic." Victor said.

"Look on a scale of one to crazy how far up the crazy ladder are we talking about?" Harry asked.

"I've never done something like this but Maria helped a village under possession in Spain a long time ago. She knows the magics involved and if she thinks it could work it might be our best shot. Mix in the box you can make and we're looking at some good odds that it might work. We would need to talk to her about it and maybe some of her fanged friends, but? Look let's put it this way, it's an option." Victor said.

"A part of me thinks you're mad for even suggesting it but, well I'm a bit stuck at the moment. Look, talk it over with who you need to, but keep it discreet. Do not under any circumstance tell Hermione. Are we clear?" Harry asked looking VIctor in the eye.

"I can do that. I'll have something for you in a week or two depending on what she says." Victor said holding out his hand. Harry shook it and they both nodded. Harry summoned the gold box and handed it to VIctor.

"While you two talk it over see if you can figure out how this works. I'd do it myself but I have a feeling I'm going to be looking for shiny things with not so shiney cores in the next two weeks." Harry said as they walked to the library.

"Yes, let's see if we can figure out your tracking compass." VIctor said putting the gold box into a pocket in his gray robe. "Could you make one of those object vaults as well? I'd love to get a look at it." Victor asked.

"Sure, here, I'll make you a sample pack of things we came up with for the department." Harry said making a bag of holding and handing it to Victor. "Hold this open for me." Harry said before he stopped in the hallway and closed his eyes.

He made three object vaults and dropped them into the bag. He made three robes in grey with the shield charms and added them to the bag. He made two more soul stripping boxes, six lightsabers, three pairs of the dart guns in cases, and a case with ten doses of their twelve potions they came up with. As he made a list of the things inside the bag and handed it to victor he wavered on his feet and shook his head. He took out a power tonic and drank it.

"You okay kid?" Victor asked holding Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, I over did it a bit. This is three day turned days in a row of taxing power making and it's catching up with me. I'm going to need to take a break after we collect all the horcruxes. Thankfully we have a potion we need to work on." Harry said.

"Potion?" Victor asked as they started walking again.

"We're working on a cure for the werewolf curse. We have a new improvement on wolfsbane but we know we can do better. The library here might just hold the answers we're looking for." Harry said.

"Really? Wolf will want to talk to you about that. He's head of Operations. He's also a werewolf." Victor said.

"His name is wolf?" Harry asked.

"No his name is Michael Meeks. But he prefers Wolf. He embraces his wolf but the turnings still hurt. This last turn took a lot out of him. He's half my age but he looks just as old as me. He's a good man." Victor said with a sad tone and a hard look.

"Then we need to get him on the healing tonic now and the new wolfsbane for the turning in three days. Is he in today?" Harry asked.

"He should be. You can help him?" VIctor asked.

"Yes, let's go talk to him. It will be good to get to know the boss anyways. I plan on working for Operations so does Neville and Hermione. Research and development is fun but we're warriors at heart." Harry said.

"Well in that case, let's head over to your wing of the department." Victor said with a grin as the headed back to the round room and through a door marked Operations.

This hallway had a few offices, a gym room, a lounge and kitchen area, and a room set up with barrick style bunk beds. There were a few people in the halls but unlike the other wings these Unspeakables were not dressed in grey robes or suits and dresses. They had military style black cargo pants and shirts. Also these men and women were bigger and fitter. The last thing he spotted was the gun holsters on their belts. All of them had one and Harry knew they were enchanted guns that fired conjured rounds. He had Axton's case with his guns so he was familiar with them. His dart guns worked on almost the same magic. Harry counted about a dozen operatives in top form and none of them were over the age of sixty. They passed the last door on the left which was a medical room with a healer seated at a desk and three unoccupied beds. The end of the hall was a bigger door marked Danger Room. Harry grinned at that. Someone liked the X-men. A girl about mid twenties with red hair pulled back in a pony tail came out of the door as they approached. She was covered in sweat and she had a towel around her neck but she was grinning.

"Is wolf in the training room?" Victor asked.

"He's in there. I was going to get the healer. I just kicked his ass in murder ball." She said proudly.

"Healer? Is he hurt?" Harry asked running a scan over her form.

"I think he threw out his back. He hit the court like a sack of bricks after a training dummy tackled him. I'm Kit by the way." She said with a grin as she took his waving hand and shook it.

"Harry, it's good to meet you. Now if you'll excuse me I'll go see to Wolf. this will be a good interview." Harry said.

"Interview? Harry Potter is coming to work for the department?" She asked Victor as Harry pushed the door open and found a huge black man on the floor of what looked like a basketball court with three small quidditch rings instead of basketball hoops. There were training dummies off to the side. The big man was holding his back and groaning as he tried to cast spells at his own back with a black wand.

"I did it this time Doc. I think I broke something." He groaned out trying to turn over to look at who was coming through the door.

"I'm not the doc. But I can help you with that." Harry said jogging up to him and casting a few charms at his back to confirm nothing was really broken. "Well it's not broken. You did pull a muscle and slip a disk at the base of your spine." Harry said healing them with a few more waves of his hand.

"OH, Fuck!" He called out as he disk slipped back in place. "You sure as hell are not a healer. But I think that did the trick." He said rolling over and standing up as he did every joint cracked and popped and he groaned again. "I'm gettin too old to play this game. I don't know you." The big man said looking at Harry.

"Harry Potter. New unspeakable and Operative hopeful sir." Harry said holding out his hand to the huge man.

Wolf was at least six and a half foot tall, and four foot wide. He was about four hundred pounds and most of it was muscle. His arms and legs looked like tree trunks. He was bald with a bushy beard, deep set brown eyes, and oversized pointed incisors like a wolf. Harry knew that meant Wolf had embraced his beast and that allowed him access to some of his werewolf senses. The cost was a shorter temper and wolf like traits like a need to show dominance and a pack mentality.

But even as big and powerful as Wolf looked he could see what Victor was talking about. Wolf had a tired look to his eyes and his spine had a curve to it that looked painful. As the big man stretched Harry heard more pops and cracks from the other joint in his body and from the way he moved his knees and elbows he could tell the big man had no cartilage left. When he shook Harry's hand his huge mit made Harry's normal sized hand look tiny but his grip strength was miniscule.

"No kidding? You're an Unspeakable? You're like eleven right?" Wolf asked in a deep booming voice.

"I am, I'm also a Maker, a black belt in Karate, and jr saber champion. To top it all off I'm a soon to be three times Order of Merlin recipient. Now Victor tells me you're a werewolf. My partner and I have come up with a few potions for werewolves. The first being this healing tonic to get your bones and joints back to shape. You should gain back some more of your height and the cartilage in your knees and elbows. We also have this new wolfsbane that should let you keep more of your mind during the change as well as make the turning less violent. I'm going to start you on the healing tonic three times a day for a few weeks and let's see where we are after that. Take this flask and take a shot of this before breakfast lunch and dinner. I'm also going to make you a power shake. Werewolves tend to need more protein than normal wizards. What flavor do you like?" Harry asked pulling a big flask of glowing white healing tonic out of his bag and making a shot glass.

"WHat?" Wolf asked looking down at the kid in front of him like he had two heads.

"Just take the potion Wolf. the kid is for real." Victor said from the door.

"Really?" Wolf asked.

"He just sucked the dark lord's soul out of a horcrux. I'd listen to the kid. Also I think we should start calling him Harry, kid is a bit of an insult." Victor said.

"I don't mind Kid, Hermione on the other hand, might. Now back to what I was saying, what flavor do you like?" Harry asked handing Wolf the big flask and shot glass.

"Chocolate." Wolf said looking at the glowing flask.

"Right. I want you to drink three of these a day. As well. Like the flask this is a weeks supply. I'll give you another set in a week." Harry said making a case of potions. "Each one of these has all the protein and vitamins of big meal. I want you to eat a high protein diet on top of these. Eat as much as you can at every meal. The more you eat the better you'll feel. Do you have a place to turn?" Harry asked.

"I have a house, I lock myself in the basement in a cage." Wolf said.

"Well you're coming to our house then, that is no way to turn. Our uncle Remus turns and we ward him off in the woods behind the house you both can run free there for the night. We'll have healing tonics and hot baths ready for you in the morning. It helps." Harry said.

"O-k?" Wolf said looking between Harry and Victor.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I have to get to the library. I need to help my partner build a tracking compass to find the other horcruxes. I can find my way I think." Harry said.

"Actually Harry, you need a DoM shield or the round connecting room won't work. Here take mine. I'll meet you in the library in a bit." Victor said tossing Harry his gold shield. Harry caught it without looking, clipped it to his belt, and started walking out of the room.

"That kid's something else." Wolf said.

"You're looking at the future of the department." Victor said.

Harry smiled as he walked out of the room and down the hall. He made his way to the Library and found a round room about a hundred foot across and a hundred foot tall. The outside circle was floor to ceiling book shelves. The middle was full of tables and desks. He spotted Hermione Neville and Algie sitting at one of the tables. They were talking animatedly and making hand gestures but no sound was heard. Harry walked closer and when he was five feet from the table he broke through the silencing buble.

"But it doesn't work like that!" Algies said.

"No but it can. Just because it wasn't made for it doesn't mean it can't work. Power stones were made for wards, that doesn't mean that they can't be used to power everything else. It's a runes set carved into stone. This spell was made to detect dark magic. This is it's rune set. If you mix it with this set to power the compass it will work." She said holding up a big book.

"What's going on?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Your girlfriend is breaking the laws of magic!" Algie said.

"So what!" Hermione said with a shrug.

Harry looked at Neville who was laughing but no sound was coming out. Harry waved at him and dropped the silencing charm. Neville laughed so hard he was having trouble breathing.

You good Nev?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, just fine. This was fun. It's always fun to see adults try to tell Hermione she can't do something." Neville said.

"Okay. Hermione, don't mess with the boss. Boss let her work. This is what you hired us for. Speaking of hiring us we need these if we're going to come here to work and move through the halls." Harry said taking Victor's gold shield off his belt.

"RIght. You also need to fill out paperwork and we have to set up payroll and you need offices and lab spaces." Algie said.

"Let's deal with the these first, you can pay us later. We don't need offices at the moment because we are going to continue with school for the next three years. On our turned days we'll work from home and only come here for books or to use the lab. Even though we are officially Unspeakables we still need our NEWTs to hold our seats on the wizengamot. Also we want to stay close to the school for a few years to keep an eye on the old man. Gold shields would help if we have to threaten him again which, if my thoughts are correct then he knew about the soul piece in my head and he set me up. So me and him are going to have some words soon. I think right after we collect some more horcruxes. Why don't you gather up the paperwork you need us to fill out and get two gold shields and met us back here. By the time you get back we'll have this horcrux detector working. Also the things we come up with that are safe for public consumption will be given to the public. If it's a potion we will file a patent on the formula and let anyone use it. If it's something like the wands we will contract someone to sell them for us. We are not greedy. We want to help people. We're working on a cure for werewolves. If we crack it we will patent it and give it to the world. If other Unspeakables help us we will give them full credit if they would like. But we work for everyone. Not just this department." Harry said locking eyes with Algernon to make sure they were on the same page. Harry decided he was going to do as much good as he could and if they had to be on their own to do it they would walk away. It would suck because this was their dream job but they would walk.

"What do you think we do here? Hide potential life saving magics from the world? It's our policy to make sure good things get out. Where do you think the spells and potion in textbook come from? We only keep things locked up down here if they pose a real threat to the world. Even then we regulate the usage and restrict access without a licence or documentation like time turners. We control those because they are dangerous. Relax Harry, you guys are working for the good guys." Algie said with a reassuring smile.

"Right, sorry about that." Harry said looking embarrassed about laying into his new boss for no reason.

"It's fine Harry. You didn't know. I fully understand your concerns. I'm happy to hear you say that you want to help people. That's what we do." Algie said walking away.

"Now that you're done telling off our boss can we get back to work?" Hermione asked looking at Harry.

"Yes." Harry said coming to sit next to her at the table.

"Good I need you to read these two passages and study this rune string I made." She said handing him the two books.

Twenty minutes later when Algernon came back into the library with the stack of forms he found a crowd of ten unspeakables around the table where the kids were working. He pushed his way through and saw Harry holding a three foot long arrow with a thick shaft made of gold.

"You made it just in time to see if it works." Harry said flipping open a door in the shaft of the arrow and placing the glowing cylinder inside the arrow. He closed the door and the arrow glowed and floated in the air in front of him. He waved his hands and encased the arrow in a big glass ball. With another wave the ball shrank to the size of a snow globe and held it. The arrow spun around and pointed at Harry's head and glowed bright white. Harry smiled and tapped the ball with his finger the glowed died down and the arrow spun around a few times before it slowed to a stop pointing north west.

"I can't believe it works." Victor said from his place by the table.

"Half of what we do is mix magics to make them work together with each other." Hermione said with a triumphant smirk.

"What's the other half?" Victor asked.

"Finding old magics and tweaking them. Now let's get this paperwork out of the way and head home to rest. It's been a long day full of draining magic." Harry said with a yawn as the rest of the unspeakables wandered off to go back to what they were working on.

"Yes and after your done with that arrow I would very much like to study it." Victor said patting Harry on the back as he looked at the ball with wonder.

"Or you can come with us on the hunt. Having a dark arts master with us might save us some hassle in the long run." Harry said looking up to the man that was quickly become a mentor.

"I would love to." Victor said looking excited.

"We also have to get home so we can tell mum we have jobs." Hermione said with a smirk.

"Well Dan said we should get summer jobs like normal kids." Harry said laughing.

"I don't think this was what he meant, but it's your dream job so I don't think he'll mind." Neville said.

"I have the paperwork you need to fill out. I also have your code of conduct book as well as two unspeakable trunks with the basic kit. Not that you two need these things but every new Unspeakable gets one. I understand that you two want to work in Operations. You will need to try out and you will be put on a team. You don't need to do this now but that's the way that side of the department works. Now if I can have you two fill out these forms." He set a file in front of each of them with a few forms. He also set two shrunken trunks the size of matchboxes on the table.

"Sure and after we do this I would like to invite you and Victor to dinner at our house. I'll be making it and we would love to pick your brains about the department. We would like to extend the offer to Maria but I know she's very old and I'm not sure if she eats still." Harry said looking at the two older men.

"She eats more than the two of us combined. She takes something to help with digestion. It's really annoying. The old bat doesn't gain weight." Victor said.

"Then before we leave we should talk to her and Wolf as well. He can get a look at the woods behind the house and meet Remus and Sirius." Harry said as they looked over the paperwork.

"Sounds good to me. I skipped lunch and it's way past quitting time for me. In fact why don't I go round up the dog and the bat to save some time." Victor said looking at his watch.

"You've met Wolf?" Algie asked.

"I did. I gave him a flask of extra strength healing tonic as well as a nutrient booster." Harry said filling out the forms with a gold pen he pulled from his pocket.

"Wolf?" Hermione asked using a matching pen to mow through her forms.

"Head of Operations. His name is Michael Meeks, he's a werewolf. He will make a good second test subject and he is in dire need of healing and care. In many ways he's worse off then Remus." Harry commented as he worked.

"We'll need to run a full battery of tests to get a baseline for his chart but you're right he would make a good test subject." She said also not looking up from her work.

"Test subject?" Algie asked looking at the two.

"For our new wolfsbane potion. We should have it ready for the turning in six days if we dedicate four or five turned days and a few long nights to it. Maria would also be a great help now that I think about it. Either way we want to test the potion on this full moon so we can register it with the potion's department and have a big batch ready for the full moon after that. Ideally we want to get it to as many werewolves as we can as fast as we can. We also want to relax the laws on our furry friends." Hermione said.

"This would also give us access to a huge group of test subjects we can use to find a cure. By looking at a huge sample size of cursed blood we might be able to speed up our work on the cure." Harry said moving on to the last form.

"You two are that close to a cure?" Algie asked looking shocked.

"We could be a lot closer but other things keep getting in our way. Things like Horcruxes and house wards and a dark lord growing out of the back of our teacher's head. It's really slowing our work down. I can not wait for these three years of school to be over so we can cut out the distraction." Hermione said as she shuffled through her paperwork and put them back into her folder.

"True, but life and death situations take precedent over potion experimentation. We really need to check up on Bill and see how he's doing." Harry said handing ALgie his file at the same time Hermione held out her file.

"Well now that the paperwork is out of the way I can formally welcome you both to the Department of Mysteries. We work in the dark to serve the light." Algernon said pulling two small boxes out of his robes and holding them out to the kids. They each took one and Harry opened his to see his gold shield looking back at him. He saw the crossed wands over the open book with the words Department of Mysteries around it. Under that was the word POTTER. Harry felt himself grinning so hard his jaw hurt. He took the gold badge out of the case and clipped it to his belt he looked over and saw Hermione do the same this as a tear rolled down her cheek. They locked eyes and a second later they were hugging each other. A second later and Neville was hugging the both of them. They broke up after a few seconds and straightened themselves out as they looked to Algernon with the mature and looks on their faces again but Algie, Victor, Maria, and Wolf were all standing there with smirks on their faces.

"Don't worry kid, I acted like a fool when I got my shield and I was twenty." Victor said patting Harry on the back. "Now I was promised food?" He added looking expectantly at Harry.

"Right, let's go. Neville, can you head back to your house to see if Bill and your family is still there? We'll head to the house." Harry said said leading them back to the round room where he held out a gold key marked home.

"Sure Harry I'll meet you at the house." Neville said pulling out his own portkey and vanishing.

The group landed in the back yard and found all the kids and most of the adults sitting at the bar in the garage or playing pool or darts. Remus was playing pool with Caitlyn Perks but when they landed he stopped and looked at the group. He vaulted over the table and ran up to Harry. He got between the kids and the Unspeakables with his wand out before he could even stop to think.

"Remus, the healing tonic is working well I see. Reflexes and energy levels are way up and your wolf senses are in top form." Harry said patting his uncle on the back as Sirius walked over with his wand out.

"Harry?" Remus asked.

"It's fine uncle Moony. This is our boss and head Unspeakable Algernon Croaker and these are our colleagues Victor Hoffman, Maria Rios, and Michael Meekes. Fellow grey robes these are our uncles Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black." Harry said defusing the situation.

"Colleagues?" Sirius asked shaking hands.

"Yes. can you handle the introductions for us? We have a lot to talk about with Dan and Emma." Harry said touching his gold shield on his belt.

"Sure Harry." Sirius said with a big smile as he saw the gold shield on his belt. "I'm proud of you two." He added patting them on the back as they walked into the garage.

Dan was behind the bar serving drinks and Emma was talking to Aurora and Andy. when the kids walked in they saw the look of fear and excitement in their eyes and they both rushed up to the kids. Harry lead them up to the loft so they could talk and cast a few wards and charms to make sure it was a private conversation. As he worked they saw the gold shields on the kids belt's. When he was done he sat next to Emma so Hermione could sit between her parents.

"Well, you know how you said we should get summer jobs next year? We kind of jumped the gun on that. On the upside it will mean we have a whole team of experts to help us." Harry said with a smile.

"You two are Unspeakables? How? I thought you had to be adults to join." Emma asked.

"You do, Neville Needs his NEWTs but we both have Orders of Merlin. It's a loophole we can use to get in now without having to wait. I think we should start from the beginning. We met with Neville's great Uncle…" for the next half hour Harry and Hermione told Dan and Emma a short version of what happened that day. When Harry said he had a dark soul piece in his head Emma latched onto him so tight he had trouble breathing. He said they would collect all the other pieces and then the team would come up with a solution to his issue. They had to answer a few questions but for the most part The grangers were happy for the two of them. They came down and were greeted with a congratulations banner over the bar and the rest of the group waiting for them at the base of the steps.

"Speech!" Neville called out making Harry laugh.

"What's there to say? We got jobs. Dream jobs, but jobs none the less. Now lets eat!" Harry said as the group cheered.

Everyone sat at the huge outdoor table after Harry extended it yet again. He then made plates for everyone and walked around the table checking up on everyone. For the most part the new group blended in with the old group just fine and each one found someone to talk to over dinner. After they ate Harry pulled remus and Wolf aside and talked to them about the turning in a week and the new wolfsbane. Hermione talked to Maria about the arrow and Victor talked to Bill about what tried to kill him. Algie sat with Dan and Emma and answered all of their questions with a smile and understanding tone. Harry and Hermione got together that night and watched as everyone mingled and talked. He pulled the gold shield off his belt and looked at it.

"It makes you feel warm inside right?" She asked looking at the gold shield in his hand.

"I almost feel like we cheated to get here so fast but with all the life and death situations we've been facing lately I'm happy we have professional help." He said.

"True, still, it's crazy we have jobs at the DoM." She added with a smirk.

"We have jobs but now we have to work our ass off to keep them. We need to prove our worth to the whole department. We'll start with the horcrux hunt and the wolfsbane. And after that we'll see what we can help them with. We also need to have a chat with the old man. He knew I had a soul piece in my head and he knew I had to die to get it out. He's been setting my ass up to die this whole time. I truly am contemplating tossing him out his tower window. If I find out he's keeping anything else to himself I'm liable to kill the old fool." Harry said.

"We'll have Amelia and Algernon at the meeting. We'll set it up for next week." She said patting him on the arm.


End file.
